MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2023) In light of harrowing reports of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) detaining and torturing civilians in Sudan, an activist with a local advocacy group explained to Sputnik that the paramilitary group had a bad reputation before the civil war started and how the local population reacted to its presence.
After thousands of foreigners fled the country when the civil war between Sudan's army and the RSF broke out in April, millions of Sudanese were forced to find ways to survive during the brutal military conflict as they did not have the luxury of leaving the war-torn nation.
Unfortunately, for Sudanese living in RSF-occupied areas, many civilians faced constant threats of looting, forcible detention or abduction, while some were even killed.
Human rights organizations in Sudan said in recent weeks that the RSF had detained at least 5,000 people in the nation's capital and kept them under inhuman conditions. An earlier report by the UN Human Rights Office said a mass grave of at least 87 people believed to have been killed by militias linked to the RSF had been discovered in the town of Al Junaynah in West Darfur.
For Samahir Elmubarak, who founded an advocacy group called the Professional Pharmacists Association of Sudan, the atrocities allegedly committed by the RSF came as no surprise.
"That tells a lot about the nature of these forces and the makeup of these forces. These forces are not fit to be a part of any official army. They're not disciplined enough. That's why there's this general anger against the RSF. Most of the people just want them to be eradicated and gone. This massive popular anger towards the RSF did not start only because of the current war. It's been ongoing for a very long time," Elmubarak, 34, told Sputnik.
Elmubarak's group has been collecting and sharing reports of different kinds of human rights violations allegedly committed by the RSF on various social media platforms.
"Our membership is spread over all 18 states of Sudan. These reports are registered or recorded by our members in different cities. The most intense violations are happening in the Khartoum state near the capital. Apart from that, there's also West Darfur in western Sudan, particularly in small cities and villages surrounding Al Junaynah in West Darfur," she said.
The activist went on to describe the kind of atrocities that members of her group had witnessed.
"They've been firing artillery straight at homes in the Khartoum state that resulted in numerous killings and injuries. Most intensely, they have turned several hospitals into military barracks, where they have gone into the hospitals and stopped the services that those hospitals were providing. It's speculated that the capacity to provide health services in the capital has been reduced by more than 60%. It's overwhelming to count the number of violations that have been ongoing. It's based on what we've seen, eyewitnesses and official reports. It's abnormal and inhuman. The random shooting, the kidnapping and the looting. It's so chaotic and very barbaric," she said.
That's also why residents of villages and towns occupied by the RSF began trying to resist their presence, Elmubarak noted.
"There were even cases where the RSF had kidnapped two girls. People from the entire neighborhood came out and were very angry. The RSF troops deployed in the area gave back those two girls. This happened about 10 days ago in the Halfaya neighborhood in the Khartoum state. And in Alubayid City of South Kordofan State, when the RSF entered the city and started looting houses, people from the entire city came out. When the RSF saw the amount of people who came out against them, despite them being unarmed, they (the RSF) ran out of the city and left," she said.
Nevertheless, the RSF's strategy of occupying densely populated neighborhoods also made it difficult for the Sudanese army to advance without inflicting heavy civilian casualties, the activist pointed out.
"This approach of the RSF is about increasing the cost of the war in order to bring about some sort of settlement. This is not the attitude of someone who hopes to rule the country in the future, because you don't want to be on the wrong side of the masses. It looks like they believe they're not on the winning side of this war and they're trying to increase the cost. It's a matter of gangsters who are spread all over the city, armed with heavy artillery, so it's very costly for the Sudanese army, in terms of civilian life, to attack them. They're trying to use civilians as human shields to make it more difficult for them to be targeted or bombed by the Sudanese army," Elmubarak said.
Before the civil war in Sudan began, Elmubarak had worked in the pharmaceutical industry in Sudan for more than 10 years. Although her profession seemed far removed from political activism, she had more first-hand experience with the social problems in Sudan through her job.
That's why, in 2016, she and a few of her colleagues decided to form an advocacy group called the Professional Pharmacists Association of Sudan. To address issues such as affordability and accessibility of medicines in Sudan, her organization had to advocate for changes in economic policies and the overall system in the country.
Similar to the political activism of university students in Sudan, unions like her advocacy group have always been at the forefront of pushing for political change in the country since the colonial era, Elmubarak noted.
"It's a legacy that started with the professionals coming together to fight against colonialism. And then it was against the dictatorship. It has continued as part of the political legacy of civil society in Sudan," she said.
In addition to acknowledging the atrocities committed by the RSF, Elmubarak stressed that Sudanese activists like herself would continue to fight for the return of civilian government to the country once the civil war is over.
"People are very much aware that, at this point in time, we do want the Sudanese army to win this war, because that's the army's role. But we're also very clear that we do not want the military to act as a political party to rule the country. This is the awareness of the people of Sudan have piled up over the years. At this point in time, we don't want the RSF to be the victor. We also recognize we want the military to win this war as an institution of the country, but not as a political power," she said.
Elmubarak went on to lay out the blueprint for the country from the perspective of Sudanese activists.
"This war is a product of the militarization of Sudan. The people have been demanding that the power should be in the hands of the people and the military should go back to their barracks. The power should be in civil society to negotiate and reach a consensus on how to hold elections and how to restore civilian rule," she said.
Before a civil war broke out in Sudan in April, the current government came to power in a military coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in 2021.
