Jok Madut Jok: "al-Burhan must have thought that Malik Agar would allow him to have influence in Juba"

Malik Agar, from Blue Nile State in southeastern Sudan. He was a senior commander of the SPLA, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, based in South Sudan. He was appointed by General al-Burhan No. 2 of the regime in May 2023. (Illustrative photo) AFP - HANNAH MCNEISH

Text by: François Mazet Follow | Laurent Correau Follow

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In the civil conflict that has shaken Sudan for more than a month, each of the protagonists has been trying to rally forces to his cause. On Friday, May 19, General al-Burhan officially dismissed General Daglo - known as Hemetti - from the Sovereign Council that rules the country. In his place, he appointed Malik Agar as the regime's No. 2 and promoted several of his relatives to the army.

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Malik Agar is a former cadre of the South Sudanese rebellion, but the region he comes from is part of Sudan, and he signed a peace agreement with Khartoum in 2020. Who is he? Why was he chosen? Interview with South Sudanese researcher Jok Madut Jok, professor at Syracuse University, USA.

RFI: Who is Malik Agar, who has just been appointed vice-president of the sovereign council by General al-Burhan?

Jok Madut Jok: Malik Agar is from Blue Nile State in southeastern Sudan. He is part of an ethnic group called the Ingessana. He was a senior commander of the SPLA, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, based in South Sudan.

When the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed and South Sudan became an independent country in 2011, the agreement forced Blue Nile to remain on Sudan's side and at that time, Hagar formed, along with other commanders, a group called the SPLM-North.

By the time al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019, these commanders became members of the new coalition backing the government, but their role was diminished when the military hijacked the revolution.

Malik Agar has a military force of about a thousand fighters. I imagine that General al-Burhan is calculating that by placing Hagar at his side, this force will be accessible to him, that it will join the camp of the Sudanese army and that it will increase his chances in the fighting for control of Khartoum.

How do you analyze the fact that al-Burhan made this proposal to Malik Agar?

I think General al-Burhan felt that Hemetti was placing his pawns in South Sudan to potentially make him one of his supporters. It will be recalled that a representative of General Daglo came to Juba, held a press conference in front of a large number of members of the government and met with President Salva Kiir.

To counterbalance, al-Burhan must have thought that Malik Hagar and his forces had to be brought to his side, that this would allow him to have a channel and influence in Juba. There are personal connections between Malik Agar and Salva Kiir. There are also institutional links, as the SPLM-North is still essentially linked to the South Sudanese armed forces. In fact, he receives his financial resources from Juba.

Salva Kiir, however, seems to be very close to Hemetti... Can Malik Agar change this in favor of al-Burhan? It's not very clear, but it seems to be al-Burhan's calculation.

Do you think that SPLM-North fighters can accept this alliance with al-Burhan?

I doubt that Malik Agar's field commanders, those in his branch of SPLM-North, would agree to fight for the Sudanese army and follow Malik Agar if he decided that this was the right strategy.

Ordinary people in Blue Nile want nothing to do with the Sudanese army and they want nothing to do with al-Burhan. They want it all the less since it is now perceived as the armed wing of the Islamist movement and Omar al-Bashir. I do not believe that the people of Blue Nile would accept to become allies of those they historically see as their adversaries.

I believe that, at the moment, most Sudanese in the peripheral regions are saying, "Let al-Burhan and Daglo fight, let them taste the bitterness of the war they have always waged in our territories, let the Sudanese elite taste the dangers of the war they have often imposed on the peripheries."

People from the peripheries say that the destruction in Khartoum can continue and that ordinary people should not take the side of one or the other.

► Read also: Sudan: wave of appointments in the entourage of General al-Burhan

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  • Sudan
  • South Sudan
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  • Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
  • Salva Kiir