In Sudan, the shadow of Omar al-Bashir still hangs over the military power

In Sudan, the number 2 of the Transitional Military Council deplored the return of the strong men of Omar el-Bashir to power. Between the president and the vice-president, the tension is at its peak.

For ten years, he played cat and mouse with the International Criminal Court. In 2009, Omar al-Bechir was the target of a first international arrest warrant. Although in office, the Sudanese head of state was then accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the context of the conflict in Darfur. It finally took until 2019 that, after a major wave of protests against the regime, Omar al-Bashir was finally deposed by the army. From, ICC and Sudan negotiate to bring ex-president to international justice. But al-Bashir was not just a man, he was a system. And several accomplices of the regime had to escape. For others, they are still in office.

Four years after the departure of Omar al-Bashir, two men oppose the head of power: General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, the president of the Transitional Military Council, and its number 2 and vice-president, Mohamed Hamdan Dogolo, alias Hemeti. Two soldiers who have one thing in common: having been the men of Omar el-Bechir. What the second tries to forget. Hemeti is especially close to the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, which is very active in the Central African Republic, while the United States is now trying to control al-Burhane. Washington has a lever in Sudan: development aid, which will only be paid if civilians are returned to power.

The RSFs at the center of the al-Burhane-Hemeti battle

But between Dogolo and al-Burhane, it's also a hell of a communication battle that has begun. It's up to whoever manages to make the other person uncomfortable. And on Sunday, Hemeti was the author of a speech that was astonishing to say the least. The soldier deplores that the military coup of 2019 "opened the door" to the return of the caciques of the dictatorship of Omar el-Bashir... his former mentor.

The boss of the Rapid Support Forces (FSR), accused of numerous massacres, made an astonishing mea culpa, admitting to having made "several errors", the latest of which was that of October 25, 2021. That day, Abdel Fattah al-Burhane arrested almost all of the government's civilians and, according to Dogolo, opened "the door to the return of the old regime".

On the merits, the soldier is obviously not wrong: after the imbroglio which surrounded the dismissal, then the return and finally the departure of the civilian Prime Minister, several officials, who had been dismissed in 2019, were handed over to high functions. But isn't Hemeti trying to divert attention, while its framework agreement for a way out of the crisis has not really convinced until today? Especially since the FSR largely took part in the repression of the demonstrations of 2019.

Dogolo would like the FSR to be integrated with government troops. However, al-Buhane is not a supporter of this. "I will not allow the men of the old regime to interfere" between the army and the FSR, assured the vice-president of the transitional military council. An offensive message sent to its president, who is campaigning for a "single army" for the defense of Sudan