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Hamdok Warns About It.. Halfaya and Al-Fasher Battles Signal Sudan's Potential Slide into Rwanda Scenario
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The increasing role of warlords and militia proliferation reveals dangerous similarities with conditions that preceded Rwanda's genocide
Military confrontations erupted Saturday between the army and Rapid Support Forces in Al-Fasher city in North Darfur, northwest Khartoum, and Khartoum North, amid warnings of repeating Rwanda's tragedy that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in 1994.
Abdullah Hamdok, coordinator of Sudanese civilian forces "Taqaddum" and former Prime Minister, issued a warning cry about the country sliding toward a scenario similar to Rwanda's 1994 genocide, confirming current indicators warn of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
Battles intensified in the Halfaya area of Khartoum North since Friday, leaving dozens of officers, soldiers, and civilians dead, amid conflicting accounts about field control.
Hamdok stated during a Brussels conference Friday that "the multiplication of armies, increasing role of warlords in mobilizing and recruiting civilians, and growing hate speech and ethnic and regional alignment are all factors threatening Sudan's slide into something worse than Rwanda's 1994 genocide."
The former Prime Minister highlighted the rapid deterioration of conditions, criticizing the international community and UN's shortcomings in addressing the crisis that has claimed over 150,000 lives and displaced about 12 million since conflict eruption in mid-April 2023, warning that delayed intervention might repeat the international inaction tragedy that preceded Rwanda's genocide.
Hamdok appealed to the international community to activate the responsibility to protect principle, establish safe zones, deploy protection forces, and impose comprehensive no-fly zones to protect civilians, emphasizing the necessity of learning from Rwanda's lessons and not repeating past mistakes.
Local observers reported that similarities between current situation indicators and what preceded Rwanda's genocide raise deep concern, especially with escalating hate speech and civilian recruitment on ethnic and regional bases.
Fears increase of a catastrophic scenario similar to Rwanda, particularly with weapons proliferation, weak central control, and growing separatist tendencies and ethnic conflicts.
Civilians in conflict zones face harsh humanitarian conditions, while experts warn that absence of rapid and decisive international intervention could lead to repeating one of the worst chapters in African continent history.
Estimates indicate the current crisis carries dangerous elements similar to what preceded Rwanda's genocide, in terms of societal polarization, weak international response, and escalating violence on ethnic bases.
Levant-Agencies
