- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
If there's any reason to be interested in African politics, it's that governments collapse, rise, coup themselves, collapse again, and start civil wars at the drop of a hat. Or used to, before the arrival of UN missions, and international Globohomo enforcement. Until now that is.
While the site was down, news started popping off of armed men seizing the airport in the capital of Khartoum. Soon after, firefights started breaking out across the city and country. For all intents and purposes, the government of Sudan is at war with it's former paramilitary support army, the Rapid Support Forces.
Instead of bombarding you with twitter links, i'll give a quick rundown to start the thread and try to explain what is happening with the least amount of infodump. I'll also try to avoid giving news outlets any undeserved revenue, and while that could lead to personal bias or incorrect info, this thread is more just posting crazy shit you see happening, not a fifty paragraph polsci thesis.
1. Who is fighting?
The government, a military junta that overthrew the "democratic" interim government in 2021 that itself overthrew long ruling dictator Omar Bashir in 2019. While most people on non-American coups are prepped to scream 'MUH CIA" the truth is more complicated. The Sudanese government have supplied Ukrainian forces, but were also allowing the Russian to build a base on the Red Sea. However, the plan has faced delays and near collapse, with the Sudanese basically saying, "Yeah you'll have it, but only when our government isn't a junta." Whenever that will be. They largely control the professional army of Sudan, the SAF.
The RSF were a pro-government militia. They are primarily former Janjaweed, the people who committed the Darfur genocide with Bashir's approval. They were also used to put down dissent, infamously massacring almost 130 people during a protest shortly after the coup that took out Bashir. They basically are supporting anyone who gives them help in killing Darfuri's. They supported the Army during it's 2021 coup and have been trying to stay independent. They also have the alleged support of the Russian Wagner PMC, but their leader, General Dagalo, has deployed RSF to support Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Iran, and has reached out to Western leaders for legitimacy.
2. Why are they fighting?
Two big problems emerged from the coup and the continual "Move to Democracy". Firstly, the commander of the Army, General Al-Burhan, has basically solidified his rule to the point he's probably a military dictator in all but name, with less interest everyday of letting go of power. Worse, he wanted the RSF integrated into the Army. This is really a problem with the commander of the RSF, General Dagalo. In essence, the militia army he formed after years of planning and command will now go to a powerful rival, Al-Burhan. Essentially, it's two powerful generals with their own armies trying to win a power game.
This is all a giant simplification of events, but as I said, this is all a basic intro.
As of writing, it's been a day of fighting, with fighter jets from the Sudanese Air Force firing on RSF:
Tanks on the streets:
Egyptian advisors and their jets captured at the airport:
And this is just the start. Fighting is still continuing and has spread from the capital to the entire country.
While the site was down, news started popping off of armed men seizing the airport in the capital of Khartoum. Soon after, firefights started breaking out across the city and country. For all intents and purposes, the government of Sudan is at war with it's former paramilitary support army, the Rapid Support Forces.
Instead of bombarding you with twitter links, i'll give a quick rundown to start the thread and try to explain what is happening with the least amount of infodump. I'll also try to avoid giving news outlets any undeserved revenue, and while that could lead to personal bias or incorrect info, this thread is more just posting crazy shit you see happening, not a fifty paragraph polsci thesis.
1. Who is fighting?
The government, a military junta that overthrew the "democratic" interim government in 2021 that itself overthrew long ruling dictator Omar Bashir in 2019. While most people on non-American coups are prepped to scream 'MUH CIA" the truth is more complicated. The Sudanese government have supplied Ukrainian forces, but were also allowing the Russian to build a base on the Red Sea. However, the plan has faced delays and near collapse, with the Sudanese basically saying, "Yeah you'll have it, but only when our government isn't a junta." Whenever that will be. They largely control the professional army of Sudan, the SAF.
The RSF were a pro-government militia. They are primarily former Janjaweed, the people who committed the Darfur genocide with Bashir's approval. They were also used to put down dissent, infamously massacring almost 130 people during a protest shortly after the coup that took out Bashir. They basically are supporting anyone who gives them help in killing Darfuri's. They supported the Army during it's 2021 coup and have been trying to stay independent. They also have the alleged support of the Russian Wagner PMC, but their leader, General Dagalo, has deployed RSF to support Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Iran, and has reached out to Western leaders for legitimacy.
2. Why are they fighting?
Two big problems emerged from the coup and the continual "Move to Democracy". Firstly, the commander of the Army, General Al-Burhan, has basically solidified his rule to the point he's probably a military dictator in all but name, with less interest everyday of letting go of power. Worse, he wanted the RSF integrated into the Army. This is really a problem with the commander of the RSF, General Dagalo. In essence, the militia army he formed after years of planning and command will now go to a powerful rival, Al-Burhan. Essentially, it's two powerful generals with their own armies trying to win a power game.
This is all a giant simplification of events, but as I said, this is all a basic intro.
As of writing, it's been a day of fighting, with fighter jets from the Sudanese Air Force firing on RSF:
Tanks on the streets:
Egyptian advisors and their jets captured at the airport:
And this is just the start. Fighting is still continuing and has spread from the capital to the entire country.
War helicopters are shooting at the putschists in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. 
