The news, which was based on a statement from the US State Department yesterday evening, Tuesday, stated that the Minister Anthony Blinken He had a 30-minute phone call with the president Sudanese Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan He discussed the issue of ending the conflict in Sudan Urgently, and enabling unhindered access of humanitarian aid, in order to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people.
It seems that this meeting stirred many Sudanese concerns and raised many questions, especially regarding what observers called the sudden movement in the American administration’s circles, which remained silent about many of the violations and atrocities to which civilians in Sudan have been exposed since the fighting broke out between Fast support And the army for more than a year.
These are violations that many organizations and bodies concerned with human rights have continued to mention, and some of them accused the Rapid Support of committing them, especially those violations related to using civilians as human shields, and seizing their homes, belongings, cars, and all their capabilities.
In the following lines, Al Jazeera Net seeks to present some points on this topic, which were pointed out by many observers of Sudanese affairs who commented on Blinken’s call with Al-Burhan, in the hope of illuminating some unclear areas in the American role towards the Sudanese tragedy.
1/ Al-Atta’s statements: Look for the Russian bear!
Many attributed the American position to fear of any possible Russian presence in Sudan, especially in the region The Red SeaIt is a place where the Russians sought a lot to find a foothold. The issue of the Russian pursuit of interests and influence in Sudan was not the result of just the previous days or months, but it was always on the table.
In the past few days, Lina Yaqoub, Al Arabiya channel correspondent in Sudan, conducted a rare interview with General Yasser Al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Army and a member of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, in which he said: Russia It asked the Sudanese authorities to establish a fuel supply station in the Red Sea in exchange for providing weapons and ammunition, and the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Army Commander Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan will sign agreements in this regard soon.
This development in Khartoum’s relationship with Moscow, which appears to be what moved the waters between Washington and Khartoum, was not the result of the days that preceded Al-Atta’s statements. Last April, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Russian Envoy to Sudan, visited Sudan Africa And the Middle East, where he met during the two-day visit with Al-Burhan and Sudanese leaders, and stated that his country considers the Transitional Sovereignty Council “the legitimate representative of the Sudanese people.”
According to Sudanese sources, during that visit, Russian presidential envoy Mikhail offered to provide military aid to the Sudanese army in exchange for implementing the agreement to establish a logistics station for the Russian naval forces in Port Sudan Which was signed during the era of the ousted president Omar al-Bashirwhich did not see the light at the time.
A few days before the Russian envoy’s visit to Sudan, he visited Moscow Director of the Sudanese Intelligence Service, Ahmed Ibrahim Mufaddal, where he met with Russian officials, including Bogdanov.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Mufaddal discussed with Russian officials the latest developments in the military and political situation in Sudan, and that during the discussions they discussed the most prominent files and issues related to the continued development of Russian-Sudanese relations, in light of the current military and political situation in and around Sudan.
In this context, analysts believed that Al-Atta tried in his statements to alleviate Washington’s potential concern about any rapprochement between the two countries Khartoum And Moscow when he stressed in the same interview that he does not object to the establishment of the Russian naval station, saying, “This is not a defect at all,” and stressed that Sudan is open to concluding similar agreements with other countries, including the United States andKingdom of Saudi Arabia AndEgypt“Giving priority to Sudan’s interests above all else.”
2/ Iran and its “Mohajer” drone
Regarding the explanation of the call with Al-Burhan that the US Secretary of State initiated yesterday, many observers of Sudanese affairs point to the developments that occurred between Khartoum andTehranRepeated reports said that Tehran had reached the point of supplying the Sudanese army with weapons, most notably the “Muhajir” marches, which had a significant impact on achieving victories for the Sudanese army over the Rapid Support.
Last February, he visited former Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq Iran For the first time after an 8-year rupture, his late Iranian counterpart confirmed this at the time Hussein Amir AbdullahianThe reopening of the Iranian and Sudanese embassies and the resumption of diplomatic duties for the ambassadors of the two countries, in the context of efforts to expand bilateral relations.
In subsequent statements, the Sudanese Foreign Minister said that his country’s relations with Iran are not directed against any country, regional or international regime, in an attempt to justify the rapprochement with Tehran, the signs of which appeared and coincided with Western media reports, which reported that Iran was arming the Sudanese army, which is fighting… Fierce fighting with the Rapid Support Forces.
Last February, an advisor in the Sudanese Ministry of Defense told Al Jazeera Net that “military cooperation between his country and Iran is no longer fully as it was before the two countries’ relations were severed, especially since they did not exchange diplomatic representation nor open embassies.”
He stressed that “military cooperation between Sudan and Iran is still limited, and is not directed against any other party, and that his country is aware of the security complexities and conditions in the region, and the tension in Bab al-Mandab The Red Sea, and the war in Gaza And its repercussions.”
However, according to observers, the concern of the United States and…Israel In some countries of the region, the Iranian-Sudanese rapprochement is justified, and it seems that it is what triggered the stalemate that has marred relations between Washington and Khartoum in the recent period.
3/ The disasters and tragedies of war
In a related context, analysts attributed Blinken’s haste to contact Burhan to Washington’s conviction of the necessity of listening and responding to the appeals that have appeared recently, especially from United nations And its relevant organizations, as well as organizations working in the humanitarian field, which spoke extensively about the violations to which civilians are exposed in Sudan as a result of this war, which does not seem to end soon.
Since May 10, the city of El Fasher has witnessed clashes between the army, supported by the forces of the armed movements that signed a peace agreement, and the Rapid Support Forces. In addition to being the capital of North Darfur State, El Fasher is the center of… Darfur regionIt is its largest city, and the only one among the capitals of the other states of the region that was not controlled by the Rapid Support Forces in their armed conflict against the army.
And last week, she appealed Amnesty International The world is moving quickly to protect civilians trapped amid the escalating violence in the city of El Fasher.
In the same context, the Secretary-General of the United Nations expressed: António Guterres He expressed his “deep concern” about the battles that have been taking place for days in the Sudanese city of El Fasher between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, and issued a call to the combatants to allow civilians to seek refuge in safe areas.
4/ A Sudanese civil movement to stop the war
Al-Burhan and Blinken’s call comes in the context of what was described as a broad civil movement to stop the war that has been going on for more than a year. In Ethiopia Tomorrow, Thursday, the founding conference of the Sudanese Civil Democratic Forces Coordination, known as “Taqaddum,” will conclude its work, held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, which was launched last Sunday, and comes as an attempt to end the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.
However, on the first day of the launch of the activities of the “Taqaddum” conference, it was subjected to many criticisms and questions about the true purpose of its holding. Bloggers considered that the conference was being used as a media and political platform to direct accusations against the Sudanese Armed Forces, question their integrity and morals, and falsely promote their condemnation. And then trying to influence local and international public opinion to punish it and divide the national ranks from it.
On the other hand, activists considered the conference to be a new glimmer of hope to end the war, and they said, “The resolve and determination to end the war was created by the suffering of our people from this war and its atrocities that affected lives and property, destroyed the country and displaced its people. With this broad and diverse unity, we will raise the voice of peace, and we will fight the rhetoric of Disruption, division and hatred, and we will work hard to save our country from this destruction, and we will rebuild it in the best, most beautiful and best way possible.”