Al-Burhan (right) receives the head of the National Authority for Popular Resistance, Ahmed Al-Salouha (Sovereignty Council Media)

Khartoum -

Experts warned against the political exploitation of the popular resistance in Sudan or its deviation from defending citizens and supporting the army to using its weapons in tribal and sectarian conflicts, after the formation of a national body under the name “Popular Resistance” and the selection of the community leader in West Kordofan State, Ahmed Saleh Al-Salouha, as its president. 3 days ago.

Eight months ago, a campaign began to mobilize citizens to support the army in confronting the Rapid Support Forces, and tribal and social groups called on their members to bear arms in defense of their areas, after the Rapid Support Forces expanded from Khartoum towards the Darfur region and Kordofan states and took control of Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State, in mid-December. /Last December.

Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Army, had previously called on Sudanese youth to join the army to confront the "Rapid Support", saying, "Whoever is able to carry a weapon should go to the nearest military unit."

Al-Salouha revealed that members of his Misseriya tribe participated in the “Rapid Support” in the sabotage and promised correction (SUNA)

A counter-insurgency start

Al-Salouha comes from the Misseriya Arab tribe, which is the second largest tribal component of the Rapid Support Forces after the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, to which the Rapid Support Commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti,” and his deputy, Abdel-Rahim Dagalo, are affiliated.

During a press conference following his selection, Salouha considered that the formation of the commission at this time represents “a strong blow to the rebellion, and to all those who succeeded it, both internal and external agents,” and said, “The commission is open to all the people of Sudan without tribal, political, or regional discrimination.”

Salouha described the rebel militias as "thieves" and said that they were "mercenaries who came from 15 countries to destroy Sudan, break the prestige of the army, weaken the country, and break it up into small states that are easy to swallow."

He explained, "The popular resistance will fight under the command of the armed forces after the people rise up to defend their land, money, and honor, and bear their responsibility in leading the popular resistance and coordinating it in the country's various states."

Salouha believed that talking about mobilizing the people is “a word of truth that I mean falsely,” and he admitted that some of his people from the Misseriya tribe “supported the Rapid Support in the sabotage that occurred,” but he promised to correct that.

In an audio recording yesterday, Tuesday, Al-Salouha said that his contacts with field commanders in the Rapid Support Forces from his tribe succeeded in pushing them to leave the fighting and return to their areas in West Kordofan, which led to thwarting multiple attempts by the Rapid Support Forces to control the army headquarters in the city. Babanusa and suffered huge losses.

Popular support

A military official - who requested to remain anonymous - explains that the role of the Popular Resistance Authority is to mobilize those capable of bearing arms to join the resistance to defend their homeland and their people by supporting the army to carry out its duties.

The official told Al Jazeera Net, "The authority does not have a military role, but rather a popular one, by following up on the conditions of the resistance participants after they mobilized during the previous stage and coordinating their affairs through a community mechanism."

In the same context, former Interior Minister Bechara Juma Aro believes that the new body will be national to support the nation, linking the states and coordinating efforts to support the armed forces.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Jumaa Aro believes that concerns about the use of weapons distributed to the popular resistance in tribal conflicts or personal motives can be overcome because the weapons will be distributed under the responsibility of the army, in order to avoid experiences in a previous era that led to the spread of weapons in the hands of citizens and tribes, which threatens security and strikes. The social fabric of the country.

He accuses the Rapid Support Forces and political forces loyal to them in the Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces (Taqaddum) of trying to confuse the popular resistance by claiming that they represent specific political trends.

Jumaa Aro reveals that the information available to him and his estimates indicate that the war has begun to count down and that “rapid support” is declining and will witness cracks and divisions during the coming period after it loses its solid power, its dismemberment, and the departure of its military and political leadership.

Threat of new rebellion

For his part, Dr. Abdul Rahman Abu Khreis, a professor at the Center for Diplomatic Studies, calls for “tight controls in the distribution of weapons, such as restricting them to those who are able to carry and use them, proportioning the size of weapons to the population of each state, and collecting them after the end of the war.”

Abu Khreis warns in his interview with Al Jazeera Net that "the absence of controls will lead to security chaos and the use of weapons in tribal, sectarian and regional conflicts."

He believes that "among the most prominent challenges facing the popular resistance, which will lead to its weakening, is the absence of consensus, the multiplicity of local conflicts, political division, the absence of a national vision towards the war, and the alignment of partisan forces alongside its parties."

He also warns that "any attempt to exploit the Popular Resistance Authority politically and place it within a political or ideological framework will be a deficient understanding that will turn against its owners and lead to a new, more complex rebellion."

For his part, security expert Adam Ismail believes that “the Popular Resistance Authority is an unjustified political body, and that if the need arises to confront the spread of Rapid Support and the widespread violations it committed against civilians, the resistance should be for temporary tasks.”

Ismail told Al Jazeera Net, "There are reserve forces that can be called up if the leadership of the military establishment deems they need them so as not to resort to using elements who do not have combat experience, and the distribution of weapons will lead to a multiplicity of military groups, making them a security threat."

Source: Al Jazeera