Armed movements in Sudan attack Yasir al-Atta, the assistant commander-in-chief of the Sudan Armed Forces and accuse him of trying to push them to war, describing his speech as "provocative."
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Al-Atta had appeared in a video recording in front of a group of army officers and soldiers, in which he attacked the leaders of the armed movements and questioned their sense of belonging to Sudan. Al-Atta denounced the neutral position of the armed movements, that signed the Juba Peace Agreement on …., towards the two sides of the conflict.
The armed movements said in a statement on July 28, signed by the head of the Media Committee of the Joint Force for Armed Struggle, Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, that since the signing of the peace document, the two warring groups have been obstructing the protocol of security arrangements.
The statement added: “What was mentioned in Al-Atta’s speech is nothing more than a maneuver which tries to regurgitate the movements of the armed struggle in order to make it part of this absurd war.”
The statement continued: "What was stated in Al-Atta’s speech is nothing but a call for war, with a provocative approach that questions the patriotism of others and reproaches their positions. It denounced the statement of Al-Atta for describing them as detracting from Sudanese values and lack of manhood and magnanimity." They assured in the declaration, "We will not fight because of anyone’s will…for those without a goal."
The armed movements indicated that their neutrality made it possible for food, medicine, humanitarian aid, and commercial convoys to reach Darfur and Kordofan under the protection of their joint force.
The statement described al-Atta's speech of insults and humiliation as "cheap trading" and an attempt to evade their responsibilities to protect citizens.
It added, “knowing that the depredation and displacement in the city of El Geneina took place in front of the eyes and the full presence of the armed forces without moving a finger.”
It continued, “It seems that al-Atta forgot that he and those with him created the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and a number of militias to fight on their behalf against the armed struggle movements. They were plotting and moving according to their orders, destroying and burning villages.”
Although Sudan has 87 armed movements (84 of which are concentrated in the Darfur area), there are 4 main ones who have been fighting in this region for decades. This is due to the long going conflict in this region.
Most of these armed movements lack a precise methodological vision, but they take advantage of the absence of state prestige to impose the reality of force in certain regions, particularly given the proliferation of over two million firearms in the Darfur region alone.