Fri 05 January 2024:

President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Dagalo of the Republic of Sudan, at his Mahlamba Ndlopfu official residence in Pretoria.

“The President welcomed the briefing from General Dagalo and commended the central role of the African Union and IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development], under the chairship of Djibouti, in mediating between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and participation of the people of Sudan and civil society in finding a lasting solution to the security and political challenges,” the Presidency said on Thursday.

The President expressed South Africa’s support for the imminent face-to-face dialogue between General Dagalo and General Burhan.

He also reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire, and the dialogue towards permanent cessation of hostilities.

Hemedti signals ambition to rule the country

When Sudan’s civil war erupted in April between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, went into hiding.

Many speculated he had been seriously wounded or was even dead until he appeared in a photo-op with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday (03/01/2024).

The next day, Hemedti visited Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, ostensibly to discuss strategies to end Sudan’s conflict. He also passed through Ghana and Djibouti.

UPDATE- President Museveni, has met with Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the former Deputy Chair of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan, at his country home in Rwakitura. They discussed, among other things, ways to put an end to the continued conflict in Sudan. #UBCNEWS pic.twitter.com/HxFzdIN0t5

— UBC UGANDA (@ubctvuganda) December 27, 2023

Analysts believe Hemedti’s real motive was securing regional support to capture all of Sudan from the army.

Last month, the RSF captured Gezira state – a breadbasket for Sudan – giving the group the clear upper hand against the army.

But rather than leverage military success in negotiations to end the conflict, Hemedti appears to have ambitions to rule all of Sudan, according to analysts, Sudanese journalists and diplomats.

“Hemedti desperately needs people to feel that the RSF is a governing force. I think this is why Hemedti went to meet heads of state,” said Kholood Khair, a Sudan expert and founding director of the think tank Confluence Advisory.

“Hemedti will try as much as possible to fashion himself into this idea of being a leader,” Khair told Al Jazeera.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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