The conflict between Gen. Mohammad Fattah al-Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and Gen. Mohamed Mamdan Dagalo – known as “Hemedti” – and his Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, involves tens of thousands of fighters and has intensified inside the capital Khartoum in recent days, drawing international concern. The rival generals are fighting for control after a military coup deposed the country’s prime minister 18 months ago.
The Biden administration announced Thursday afternoon that the Defense Department will deploy military capabilities to the region – likely at its existing base in Djibouti, at least in part – to prepare to evacuate the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum if violence there escalates, though it did not explicitly state the location of potential operations.
President Joe Biden “authorized the military to move forward with pre-positioning forces and to develop options,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the White House.
“There’s no indication that either side is deliberately going after or trying to hurt or target Americans,” Kirby added. “But it’s obviously a dangerous situation.”
Leading Republicans in Congress expressed concern about the rise in violence and the need for the administration to respond militarily to protect Americans, while also slamming Biden’s contentious history of similar operations – chiefly his catastrophic decision to withdraw fully from Afghanistan.
“We cannot afford another botched evacuation,” Sen. James Rich of Idaho and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina said in a joint statement moments after the announcement of the military deployment.
The Republican lawmakers noted the violent power struggle playing out in Africa’s third-largest country comes 20 years after the genocide in Darfur in which an estimated 300,000 were killed and millions were displaced by the brutality of the regime of Omar al-Bashir, who was ousted from power in 2019 and replaced by a transitional government.
But the U.S. isn’t the only major power considering employing military action in Sudan to achieve its goals there.
Russia, too, has steadily increased its military influence in Sudan, chiefly through private mercenary front the Wagner Group, known for becoming one of the most effective forces currently doing President Vladimir Putin’s bidding in Ukraine. First deploying to Sudan in 2017, it sought to prop up al-Bashir to achieve Putin’s key strategic goals, notably to secure gold-mining rights and to establish a Russian military base on the Red Sea – plans that have been finalized but remain incomplete, largely due to U.S. pressure.
Analysts believe Wagner sees the growing violence as an opportunity to gain new momentum on Putin’s ambitions, having already used the mercenary group to support Sudan’s last coup in 2021. (Read More)
