Sudan's Burhan formally fires Dagalo as his deputy

AP , Friday 19 May 2023

In a symbolic gesture, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan fired Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, as the deputy of the country's governing Sovereignty Council, state media reported.

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Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) and Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (R). AP

 

The dismissal by Burhan of Dagalo from the governing body comes as the two sides continue to battle for control over the country.

The monthlong conflict has killed at least 705 people, the World Health Organization said Friday.

The firing, reported by the state SUNA news agency, is unlikely to affect the battlefield where the warring sides appear locked in a stalemate and unwilling to end the hostilities.

The paramilitary forces did not immediately comment.

The combat has been most acute in the Sudanese capital and in the western Darfur region.

In South Darfur's regional capital of Nyala, intense fighting between the army and RSF forces flared up Thursday killing at least 18 civillians, the Darfur Bar Association said, a legal group focusing on human rights.

Last weekend, upward of 280 civilians were killed when RSF and other affiliated militias stormed the city of Geneina, also in the Darfur region, and clashed with armed residents, the Sudan Doctors Union said.

Last week, the two sides signed a U.S.-Saudi brokered pact vowing to better protect civilians caught in the crossfire. International efforts are underway to try and build a lasting truce.

Burhan appointed Malik Agar, a once prominent leader of the Sudan Revolutionary Front, a rebel movement in Sudan’s southern Blue Nile State, to replace Dagalo, SUNA said.

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