In a new twist in Sudan’s civil war, a notorious tribal leader has re-emerged from obscurity to support the army.
Named Musa Hilal, he is the first leader of the nomadic tribal militias (also called “Arabs”), known as Janjaweed, responsible for atrocities committed during the Darfur war which began in 2003.
In this war, Hilal fought alongside Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo as part of the Sudanese government’s war against sedentary agricultural tribes (known as “non-Arab” tribes) who had rebelled against the state. More than 300,000 people have been killed due to armed conflict as well as disease and famine caused by the war, according to the United Nations.
More than two decades later, Hemedti finds himself embroiled in another conflict, leading the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – descended from the Janjaweed – in an existential struggle against the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
Last week, Hilal broke his silence on this year-long conflict, tell his supporters that he “stands with the army,” and adding that local tribes had asked him to “prioritize the stability and peace of the state.”
He also reportedly criticized the RSF for actions it is accused of committing, such as rape and looting.
Both Hilal and Hemedti are from the nomadic Rizeigat tribe, but Hilal is also a respected tribal leader within the Mahamid branch of the subtribe, giving him some local status on Hemedti.
Most of Darfur’s nomadic tribes have lent support to the RSF, lending recruits, local knowledge and access to vital supply lines.
But given Hilal’s status, his announcement could weaken Hemedti’s support base and risk sparking infighting among nomadic tribes, according to experts and sources close to his clan.
Some believe Hilal’s move could be an attempt to regain political relevance in Darfur.
“Hilal doesn’t have many supporters (compared to Hemedti) right now, but he can gather a lot of them,” said Samya Hendosa, a member of the Mahamid clan and close to Hilal and Hemedti, and herself close to Hemedti. , despite his strong criticism of RSF.
“What is clear is that the army and Hilal have reached an agreement that Hilal (and his supporters) will receive a certain amount of money, equipment and weapons,” she added.
Friend or enemy?
In 2003, the army turned counterinsurgency over to Hilal and his supporters.
They were paid and armed to fight “non-Arab” armed groups who were revolting against the government’s marginalization of their tribes and region.
Hilal’s forces committed summary executions, burned entire villages and used rape as a weapon of war, according to Human Rights Watch. Its tribal militias became colloquially known as “Janjaweed”, meaning “horse devils” in Sudanese Arabic.
As reward for crushing the insurgency, Sudan’s autocratic former president, Omar al-Bashir, appointed Hilal as his special adviser in 2008. But Hilal was disillusioned with al-Bashir and believed he was not interested in rewarding him for crushing a rebellion or developing Darfur, so he left Khartoum in anger and returned to Darfur five years later.
In 2014, Hilal formed his own armed movement, the Revolutionary Awakening Council, which Al-Bashir viewed as a threat to his power. The ex-president responded by appointing Hemedti to head the RSF, which was then tasked with disarming and arresting Hilal and his sons in 2017.
“Hilal’s plan was to unify the tribes of Darfur against Khartoum, and al-Bashir felt that this could turn into something significant against him. That’s why he immediately tried to divide (the Arab tribes) by sending the RSF after him,” said Suliman Baldo, founder of Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker, a think tank covering the country’s political affairs.
Months after the army and RSF upended Sudan’s fragile democratic transition in October 2021, they released Hilal. He remained low-key even after SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti clashed to spark Sudan’s civil war in April last year.
But in February this year, after keeping a low profile since the start of the war, Hilal allegedly promised Hemedti he would remain neutral in exchange for the equivalent of $750,000, Baldo said, along with local journalists and sources within Rizeigat. tribe and RSF who did not wish to be named.
“At the tribal level, there has been a sort of reconciliation. But now we have this video,” Baldo told Al Jazeera, referring to footage showing Hilal pledging support for the army.
Divide and conquer
In the weeks before Sudan’s civil war, activists said military intelligence attempted to recruit Rizeigat fighters into a new militia to undermine Hemedti’s tribal base, which he relies on for fighters and its logistical support.
Hendosa believes that military intelligence is doubling down on its divide and conquer tactics by co-opting Hilal. She said Hilal had previous ties to prominent members of Sudan’s Islamic political movement, collectively known as Kizan.
The Kizans ruled under al-Bashir for three decades and are believed to have a number of senior officers in the security forces, including military intelligence.
“The plan of the Islamic movement in Sudan is to divide the Arab tribes. That’s the goal,” Hendosa told Al Jazeera.
“It is in the interest of military intelligence to divide the Arabs of Darfur and find ways to get them to fight. This is consistent (historically) with military intelligence strategy,” Baldo added.
Hilal’s announcement has already generated divisions and backlash among Rizeigat tribal leaders. In a video uploaded and then deleted from Facebook, a Mahamid leader said that Hilal did not represent his clan’s position and that the Mahamids of West Darfur were firmly behind the RSF.
“RSF wishes to bring freedom, justice and fairness (for all of us),” said tribal leader Mahamid. “The army is also a criminal, a butcher and a killer… and in the past it has used all its violence against us. »
Security guarantees
Earlier this month, several non-Arab armed movements declare war on the RSF after having renounced their neutrality in North Darfur.
The RSF and aligned militias responded by burning at least 15 villages, mostly non-Arab, west of El-Fasher, according to the Darfur Network for Human Rights. The army also indiscriminately bombed suspected RSF positions, killing dozens of civilians.
The rise in violence has raised fears that widespread tribal conflict could erupt in North Darfur. The tense situation may have forced Hilal to side with the army to protect his tribal supporters from ethnically motivated attacks, according to Ahmad Gouja, a local journalist in Darfur.
“I think he is trying to protect his Mahamid tribe from possible tribal clashes… now that he is on the same side as the non-Arab armed movements, it will restore some calm and balance,” Gouja told Al Jazeera.
Mohamed Fateh el-Yousif, the founder of the local newspaper Darfur 24 agrees, but he believes that Hilal is also trying to stop the army’s indiscriminate bombing of his community.
“He took this position to ally himself with the army, so that bombs from fighter jets would stop hitting his area,” he told Al Jazeera.
Baldo also believes that Hilal’s decision was predictable, arguing that he would never have agreed to play second fiddle to Hemedti.
“Hilal is seen as someone higher up and more legitimate as a tribal leader and Hemedti does not claim to be a tribal leader at any level,” he told Al Jazeera. “In this category, Hilal is well above Hemedti, so he would never join RSF. »
