Sudanese leader fires paramilitary rival as ruling council deputy chief

JEDDAH: Sudanese leader Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Friday fired his rival Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, from his post as Burhan’s deputy on the ruling Sovereign Council.

The two had run the council since 2019 when they overthrew dictator Omar Bashir amid mass protests against his rule, before staging a coup in 2021 as a deadline neared to hand power to civilians for a transition toward free elections.

Burhan installed Malik Agar, leader of a rebel group who joined the council in 2020 after signing a peace agreement with the government, as his new deputy. He also promoted three other general to leading roles in the armed forces.

Sudan’s capital Khartoum and sister city Bahri came under renewed air attack on Friday as the war between the army and paramilitary forces entered its fifth week, deepening a humanitarian crisis for trapped and displaced civilians.

Mass looting by armed men and civilians alike is making life an even greater misery for Khartoum residents pinned down by fierce fighting between the two armies.

With the fighting has come a collapse in law and order, with rampant looting, blamed by the army and the paramilitaries on each other, hitting Sudanese homes, factories, gold markets, banks, vehicles and churches.

A rapid dwindling of stocks of food, cash and other essentials has driven much of the pillaging.

“Nobody protects us. No police. No state. The criminals are attacking our houses and taking everything we own,” said Sarah Abdelazim, 35, a government employee in Khartoum.

More than 700 people have been killed and at least 5,287 injured.

The conflict has displaced an estimated 843,000 people inside Sudan and forced about 250,000 to flee to neighboring countries, the UN refugee agency said on Friday.