Stray shells or a new militia? Why did Al-Burhan release political prisoners?
Fighting has been raging for days in Sudan, with violence and fighting continuing in the capital Khartoum and other cities between the army led by Abdul Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemeti).
A Grave Humanitarian Crisis
The situation has become catastrophic in the country, where Sudanese are suffering from numerous crises, including water, food and medicine, amid a continuous rise in the number of dead, injured and displaced, in addition to the destruction of infrastructure, housing and public facilities, most notably hospitals.
Sudanese political analyst Mohamed Elias said: “The situation is getting worse and with the internet, water services and markets being cut off, there is a major crisis inside Sudan, the Sudanese people currently, many of them are suffering from lack of medical services, and Khartoum has become like a ghost town, everyone in their homes is afraid to go out because of the continuous fire from both sides of the conflict.”
The suffering of civilians and the already fragile humanitarian situation have rapidly deteriorated, with people trapped in their homes under shells and bullets and waiting for a speedy resolution to the conflict, healthcare and humanitarian workers unable to continue to perform their duties and many hospitals, grocery stores, pharmacies, healthcare centers and supply points out of service, said Sudanese political analyst Abboud Al Khalifa; Dire consequences are looming.
Prisoner Smuggling
Videos showing mass escapes of prisoners in a number of prisons have caused a stir among users of communication platforms, most notably Kober prison in the capital Khartoum, which houses deposed president Omar al-Bashir, political prisoners, dissidents and the Muslim Brotherhood. Especially after Ahmed Haroun, the former Sudanese official in al-Bashir’s regime who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, announced that he had left Kober prison with other former officials.
The RSF accused the Sudanese army of evacuating the prison; “The execution by coup leaders of a forced eviction of all prisoners in Kober prison, which houses all the leaders of the former regime, is contrary to all local, regional and international laws,” she said.
Army convictions
Activists strongly condemned the army’s expulsion of prisoners and politicians, considering it an attempt to establish a parallel army militia consisting of Muslim Brotherhood and extremist elements led by the escapees, and including ISIS and al-Qaeda groups, to help overcome the RSF and regain what the army lost in this war after it regressed in several areas.
Mohamed Elias said: The Al-Geneina area near the Secretariat of the government and its neighboring areas witnessed very heavy shooting. The shooting, as prisoners escaped, aimed at spreading a scenario of chaos among civilians. The ongoing clashes give the weak souls to steal what they want. The opening of prisons will help spread this phenomenon.
On Twitter, one activist blamed the clashes on the smuggling of former regime figures from jail and wrote: The story is clear, from al-Huda prison to Sopa and Cooper. You think why? Why did this war start?…Of course it is because of Omar Al-Bashir and his aids to go out, and the candle is war.”
