The commander of the Rapid Support forces, Lt Gen Mohammed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, has lashed out at diverse parties within Sudan and abroad, in a 40-minute verbal offensive posted on X (formerly Twitter). The video rant places particular focus on Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan, president of the Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC) and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), whom he accuses of being “held hostage by the Islamist movement”, and accuses Sudan’s Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim of “stealing the country’s money”. Several of Hemedti’s ‘targets’ have responded, with Ibrahim belittling Hemedti’s “sad speech” as a “declaration of defeat”.
In his 40-minute video message posted on X yesterday, Hemedti lashes out in several directions. On the home front, he rails against SAF commander El Burhan and a number of army commanders, including Lt General Ibrahim Jaber, Sudan’s Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim, whom he described as a ‘thief’, the governor of Darfur, Minni Arko Minawi, who he accuses of bribery, and Islamist leader Ali Karti. In addition, Hemedti’s tirade attacks Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the USA.
Hemedti says he repeatedly warned the USA, Saudi Arabia, and the UN that the framework agreement will drag the country into war.
The RSF leader questions why warplanes do not target the militia-controlled areas and eastern Sudan as it targets all other regions of Sudan. He explicitly accuses Egypt of intervening in the conflict and fighting with its planes on the side of the Sudanese army using US explosives, and said Egyptian aircraft had betrayed its forces in Jebel Moya.
A focused attack accuses El Burhan of being “held hostage by the Islamist movement led by Ali Karti and Osama Abdullah,” and points to the return of Islamist figures to the country. Hemedti blames El Burhan for the war, the military coup, and the dispersal of the sit-in, as well as committing other crimes, and accused him of trying to “burn” Lt Gen Kabashi.
While Hemedti says he is not surprised by the participation of Jibril Ibrahim with his forces alongside the SAF as part of the Islamic movement, he denounced Minawi’s participation, accusing him of “receiving money to play this role “and said that he put his family in danger by taking that position because he violated the agreement he made with Abderrahim Dagalo in front of the Chadian president not to attack El Fasher, but “he betrayed the RSF and now represents the role of the victim…”:
He also accuses Jibril Ibrahim of “stealing the country’s money”.
Hemedti vows “to equip a million soldiers”, praises the valour of his soldiers, and denies charges of looting and theft. He urged his forces to treat prisoners well, not to film military operations, and to stop celebrating victory by firing shots into the air, saying that ammunition must be preserved.
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He denied his forces had links to Russia and said the military was getting Russian and Iranian support with weapons and drones.
Response
Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim responded to Hemedti by saying: “The militia commander, may not know that with his sad speech today, he practically mourned – knowingly or unknowingly – his adventure to rule Sudan, declared the defeat of his scoundrels, and disavowed their heinous crimes that made him lose everything.”
In a statement today, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has denied the accusations of the commander of the “militia” of the RSF, saying it is not participating in the war, and Hemedti’s accusations come at a time when Rgypt is working with others to stop the conflict in Sudan and deliver relief.
In a separate response, former Sudan foreign minister and Islamist leader Ibrahim Ghandour states that he wishes the return of all the leadership of the National Congress Party (the ruling party during the deposed 30-year Al-Bashir dictatorship) “to reach an agreement with others to bring the country to safety.”
