Normalcy has returned to the town of El Geneina and other areas in West Darfur State following a pause in fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army, a senior RSF commander claimed.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj Wednesday, Major General Abdul Rahman Juma, RSF Commander in El Geneina however, admitted that the living situation in El Geneina was terrible in the early days of the conflict but added that it had improved after humanitarian organizations entered and provided relief to the residents.
“Life is proceeding normally. From an economic standpoint, the market has all goods available at reasonable prices. About the services in El Geneina, all hospitals are working, and water is available, but education is suspended due to lack of teachers’ salaries,” he said.
Major Gen. Jumaa said the security situation in El Geneina had drastically improved. “Not a single looting incident occurred during the past three months, and no tribal problem occurred after the army left,” he said.
Maj. Gen Jumaa, however, blamed the Sudanese army for crimes of plunder and tribal problems, which ignited tribal conflicts through their intelligence.
Asked about the recent claims by the Sultan of the Masalit about the involvement of the Rapid Support Forces in the war between the Masalit and the Arabs, Maj. Gen. Musaa said, “My first meeting in El Geneina immediately after my arrival as a Commander of the Rapid Support Forces was with the Sultan of the Masalit. The meeting was aimed at thinking about how to avoid renewed tribal conflicts. I told the Sultan I am currently a commander of a military force who had no connection to any tribe.”
He added that instead of blaming him for wrongdoings, the community leader should have praised the RSF for the current calm witnessed in El Geneina.
“When they started the tribal war, as a commander of the Rapid Support Forces, I registered all the Rapid Support Forces soldiers into a sector, and not a single soldier left it to participate in the war. I know the number of my force; no soldier left because I do their attendance roll calls daily,” he claimed.
Maj. Gen. Jumaa expressed his willingness to appear before the International Investigation Committee to investigate the events in El Geneina and defended his forces against accusations of rights violations in the city.
“All the information that comes out of El Geneina is false and is adopted by people present in the city. I called on the Supreme Command of the Rapid Support Forces to form a fact-finding committee when allegations of humanitarian violations spread. I am prepared to appear before any investigation committee, and if it turns out to be a convict who is above the law, and I am prepared to appear before the court if it is outside Sudan.”
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on April 15, 2023. While fighting has been chiefly concentrated in the country’s capital, Khartoum, the conflict has impacted other regions. In Darfur, mass killings and displacement have led to reports of ethnic cleansing.
Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis. Within Sudan, over 9 million people have been displaced, 1.7 million people have fled to other countries surrounding Sudan, according to UN figures.