Sudan's Civil War Aggravated By the Entry of Islamist Militant Groups in the Conflict
By New Age Islam Staff Writer
29 October 2025
Slain Islamist Leader Al Fadl Haid Paid Allegiance To The ISIS.
Main Points:
1. The Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Force fight for supremacy.
2. More than 150,000 people have died in the crossfire.
3. Dictator Omar al Bashir had formed RAF to prevent any coup by the army.
4. RAF was used by Bashir against pro-democracy protesters.
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Sudan, a country of 40 million people of whom 97 percent population is Muslim is going through a civil war due to the ego clash and misplaced aspirations of two army generals. The African country that was ruled by dictator Omar al Bashir till 2019 and had seen a transition to a democratic system has plunged into bloody internal conflict since April 15, 2023 in which more than 150,000 have died and 14 million people have been displaced. On 27 October the RSF entered Al Fesher, the capital of a Darfur state after laying siege to it since May 2024.After capturing El Feshar, the RSF massacred 2000 unarmed people taking shelter in a camp. The army withdrew from El Feshar suggesting that the RSF had established its dominance in more areas of Sudan.
The RSF has been committing crimes against humanity by massacring hapless people though this is a military conflict. Earlier it had attacked a mosque in Darfur with drone and killed 78 devotees. On April 11, the RSF attacked a shelter camp in Zam Zam in Darfur and killed 500 people, mostly children, women and the elderly. It is also said that it kidnaps medics and demands ransom for their release. Therefore, it operates like a terrorist organisation, not as a paramilitary force because its commander Dagalo has recruited uneducated unemployed youth from impoverished rural areas.
On the other hand, the army has also sought the support of Islamist militant groups in desperation to fight the RSF. These groups are known as 'Shadow Brigades'. They fight along side the Sudanese army headed by Abdel Fattah al Burhan. Burhan gave a call for volunteers which was interpreted as a green light for the participation of Islamist militant groups active in the country in the war against the RSF. After that, militant groups like Al Bara bin Malik Brigade and Islamic People 's Defence Forces joined the army's fight against the RSF.
The leader of Al Bara bin Malik Brigade Mohammad Al Fadl al Waheed Othman was killed in the fighting. Al Fadl was known to have paid allegiance to the ISIS. Islamist leaders Ali Karti, Sana Hamad and Amin Hasan Omar eulogised Al Fadl as a martyr. Another Islamist leader Ammar Abdal Qadir Ibrahim was also killed. Some other Islamist militant leaders were also killed during the civil war. Their killing brought the participation of jihadist forces in the Sudanese army to light and evoked criticism from secular community. But Burhan defended his policy by saying that he was trying to preserve the unity of Sudan.
The massacre of innocent civilians in El Feshar on 27 October has stirred the conscience of the global community. CAIR, an advocacy group of the US has condemned the massacre and has demanded that the US government should condemn the massacre by the RSF in El Feshar and take measures to stop the civil war in Sudan. It may win Trump a Nobel prize for which he has been craving so passionately. It should be noted that the US has imposed sanctions on the Sudanese army but has not taken any action against the crimes against humanity of the RSF.
The root of the conflict is the paramilitary force called RSF or Rapid Support Forces formed by the former dictator Omar al Bashir in 2002 to crush a rebellion in Darfur and to prevent any coup attempt by the army. The RSF was also used by Bashir to crush the pro-democracy protests in 2019 and earlier. Omar al Bashir made it a semi- organised paramilitary force and gave their leaders the status of army officers.
On 11 April 2023, RSF forces were deployed near the city of Merowe and Khartoum. The government forces saw it as a threat and ordered them to leave the place. But Dagalo 's RSF refused to leave and took control of Sobo military base and Khartoum. This was the immediate cause of the current conflict between RSF and SAF. The RSF is said to have 70,000-110,000 fighters including battle hardened army veterans while the SAF has 220,000 soldiers. However, the RSF headed by Dagalo has military support of Russia as its fighters have received training from Russia. Russia's private military Wagner group is also said to have provided support to RSF. It also enjoys the support of the UAE.
The RSF is headed by Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo alias Hemedti. Under Dagalo, the RSF committed large scale massacre, mass rapes, torture and pillage. Since Bashir depended much on Dagalo for survival as the dictator, he gave Dagalo a free hand in the management of gold mines in Darfur through which he amassed huge wealth. Dagalo killed more than hundred protesters in 2019 but when he realised that Omar Al Bashir would not survive the uprising ignited by rising prices of bread, he allied with the Army general Al Burhan and forced Bashir to step down. From then on an army- civilian alliance was running the semi - democratic government with Gen. Al Buthan as Chairman and Dagalo as the Deputy Chairman of the alliance government. But in 2019, Al Burhan again staged a coup and the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Al Burhan became the country's de facto ruler.
Since then the conflict between Al Burhan and Dagalo has intensified. The RSF is loyal to Dagalo while the Sudanese Army is headed by Abdal Fatah al Burhan. The battle of supremacy between Al Burhan and Dagalo alias Hemedti turned into a civil war on April 15, 2023 during the holy month of Ramadhan.
The bone of contention between Al Burhan and Dagalo is the integration of the RSF into the Sudanese Army but Dagalo would not be contented with a junior post. Dagalo wants integration of the RSF within ten years while Al Burhan wants it in two years.
Another bone of contention between the two generals is the economic interests of the forces. It was said earlier that Dagalo had authority over the gold mines in Darfur which were a source of huge wealth for Dagalo and Omar al Bashir. Therefore, when RSF is integrated into the Sudanese forces, Dagalo may retain his control over the gold mines. That is the reason he wants the integration to take ten years. The sooner the integration, the sooner he will lose his source of wealth and authority. Sudan's civil war is the result of the tussle for control of the natural resources between the Al Burhan and Hemedti factions. And for this, both have ignored the Islamic principles of warfare and moral compulsions. They shelled residential complexes killing and injuring civilians.
Sudan's internal conflict that has continued for more than three decades has been the cause of death of millions and displacement of millions. The forces have massacred and raped thousands of people to suppress the popular uprising. Omar al Bashir and other politicians have been declared war criminals by the International Criminal Court and had been in jail. But they managed to flee the jail in Khartoum taking advantage of the chaos during the civil war though the army claims they are in its custody.
The civil war in Sudan has once again shown that Muslims have not learnt to live in a democratic political system. So- called Islamic countries have been ruled by army. Egypt, Pakistan and African countries are some of the examples. While Sudan burns, the Islamic world looks on in silence. The OIC has no role to play. And worse, the growing participation of Islamist militant groups in the civil war has further aggravated the situation. This may provide jihadi organisations of Africa to win popular support and acceptance in Sudanese society and turn Sudan into a hotbed of terrorism. Maj. Gen. (Police)(Retired), Dr Essam Abbas rightly says in an interview:
"Sudan is moving at an accelerated pace towards becoming a hotbed of terrorism and violent extremism if the war does not stop immediately and urgent measures are not taken to rebuild the Sudanese state on new foundation."
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