A proposal to install a government in Sudan's capital Khartoum to challenge the nation's military-backed and internationally recognised administration could, if it becomes a reality, accentuate territorial divisions 20 months into a devastating civil war between the army and a powerful paramilitary, analysts say.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which has been battling the army for control of the vast Afro-Arab nation, says it is willing to co-operate with a government headquartered in the sprawling capital, most of which the RSF controls, together with vast areas in the west and centre of the country.
The RSF, under Gen Mohamed Dagalo, insists it has no current links to the civilian politicians behind the proposed government and says it would work with but not control it.
“We in the RSF will only carry out the military and security role, but governing will be undertaken by civilian forces independently,” it said in a statement last weekend.
US special envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello was also not enthused by the idea of a government to rival the one in Port Sudan, saying it will constitute a step backwards.
“There are different things it could be, all of them bad, from government-in-exile to 'we are the government' to 'we are the government over the territory that we stand in',” he told reporters in London.
Behind the idea of the new government is a coterie of civilian politicians and rebel groups at odds with Sudan's de facto leader, army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and his government in Port Sudan on the Red Sea east of Khartoum. The government moved there last year from the capital.
Significantly, Taqadom, the acronym for a coalition of civilian parties also at odds with Gen Al Burhan, has distanced itself from the proposal to form a rival government in Khartoum.
However, the analysts who spoke to The National suspect the RSF was behind the idea of installing a government in Khartoum and that it intends to use it to gain a measure of legitimacy at home and abroad, as the party open to negotiating an end to the war.
“The RSF has suffered a series of battlefield defeats and it feels isolated at a time when its narrative of democracy and inclusion in a postwar Sudan has ceased to resonate with most Sudanese or foreign powers,” said prominent Sudanese analyst Osman Al Mirghany.
“However, if regional or international parties accord it recognition, we will have an additional problem to deal with. If that happens, it will usher in conditions similar to those prevailing in Libya, where there are rival governments in the east and the west."
Three of the politicians behind the proposal are former members of the Sovereign Council led by Gen Al Burhan. They and others supporting the proposed instalment of a “peace government” say the rationale is to compensate for Gen Al Burhan's refusal to negotiate with the RSF to end the fighting.
The war in Sudan broke out when a power struggle between the army and the RSF boiled over after months of tension. The army had been refusing to negotiate with the RSF after a string of failed ceasefires brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US in the war's early days. It insists on fighting until victory is achieved.
“The group [government] in Port Sudan does not aim for peace and refuses all initiatives to end the war,” said former Sovereign Council member Mohammed Al Taishi, an outspoken critic of the military who is tipped to head the proposed government.
“The Port Sudan authority is using its assumed authority … to divide the country through illegal unilateral moves,” said another former Sovereign Council member, Al Hadi Idris, citing recent moves to bring in new banknotes and hold school exams in army-controlled regions.
Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 10 million displaced as a result of the war, creating a massive humanitarian crisis in which 26 million – more than half the population – are facing acute hunger, with some close to famine.
Both parties in the war are accused by the UN and western rights groups of committing war crimes.
“The idea of creating a rival government in Khartoum is a reflection of the despair felt by many over the army's unwillingness to end the war through negotiations,” said Abdel Baqy Jibarah, a Sudanese analyst. “But it can serve as a source of pressure on the army to resume negotiations.
“But, like the Port Sudan government, the RSF-controlled one they plan to set up in Khartoum will not manage to offer adequate services and security to the Sudanese people,” he said.
For now, however, the danger posed by two separate governments in Sudan is a source of serious alarm.
“This step, if it actually happens, will constitute a real threat to Sudan's unity and divide the country to rival spheres of influence that will stand in the way of any attempt to achieve national reconciliation,” said Erwah Al Sadeq, a prominent politician who is a member of the politburo of the Forces of Freedom and Change, a coalition of civilian groups that emerged after dictator Omar Al Bashir's ousting nearly five years ago.
Al Shafie Ahmed reporting from Kampala, Uganda
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The years Ramadan fell in May
Zayed Sustainability Prize
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
RIDE%20ON
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
More about Middle East geopolitics
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More on Quran memorisation:
THE BIO
Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old
Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai
Favourite Book: The Alchemist
Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna
Favourite cuisine: Italian food
Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman
Saturday's results
Women's third round
- 14-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-2, 6-2
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4. 6-0
- Coco Vandeweghe (USA) beat Alison Riske (USA) 6-2, 6-4
- 9-Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) beat 19-Timea Bacsinszky (Switzerland) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
- Petra Martic (Croatia) beat Zarina Diyas (Kazakhstan) 7-6, 6-1
- Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) beat Lesia Tsurenko (Ukraine) 6-2, 6-1
- 7-Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 6-4, 6-0
Men's third round
- 13-Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) beat Dudi Sela (Israel) 6-1, 6-1 -- retired
- Sam Queery (United States) beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
- 6-Milos Raonic (Canada) beat 25-Albert Ramos (Spain) 7-6, 6-4, 7-5
- 10-Alexander Zverev (Germany) beat Sebastian Ofner (Austria) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
- 11-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) beat David Ferrer (Spain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
- Adrian Mannarino (France) beat 15-Gael Monfils (France) 7-6, 4-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
THE%20SPECS
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%C2%A0profile
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Masters%20of%20the%20Air
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cary%20Joji%20Fukunaga%2C%20Dee%20Rees%2C%20Anna%20Boden%2C%20Ryan%20Fleck%2C%20Tim%20Van%20Patten%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Austin%20Butler%2C%20Callum%20Turner%2C%20Anthony%20Boyle%2C%20Barry%20Keoghan%2C%20Sawyer%20Spielberg%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
The five pillars of Islam
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
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The biog
Born November 11, 1948
Education: BA, English Language and Literature, Cairo University
Family: Four brothers, seven sisters, two daughters, 42 and 39, two sons, 43 and 35, and 15 grandchildren
Hobbies: Reading and traveling
The years Ramadan fell in May
