RSF WARNS OF ISLAMIST THREAT TO SUDAN AND REGIONAL STABILITY, CALLS FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION.

BY NJOKI KARANJA. 

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has issued a strongly worded statement accusing Islamist militant groups and their foreign allies of endangering Sudan’s future and destabilizing the broader region, including the Red Sea, Horn of Africa, and the Sahel. In the statement, the RSF claimed that Sudan’s ongoing conflict is being exploited by political Islamist factions and Iranian-backed militias who are using state institutions and military power to maintain control through violence.

According to the RSF, the Sudanese Armed Forces and affiliated Islamist groups are responsible for widespread atrocities across the country—including aerial bombardments and artillery attacks on civilians in Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Khartoum—actions the group says amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The terrorist Islamic Movement and its domestic and foreign militias now represent the greatest threat to Sudan’s unity, stability, and future,” the RSF declared, warning that the unchecked influence of these groups also poses a direct risk to regional and international peace by fueling extremism and chaos.

The paramilitary group condemned the lack of decisive response from regional and international actors, calling their silence “indirect complicity” that undermines peace and emboldens authoritarianism. The RSF emphasized that it stands with “the oppressed, the marginalized, and the advocates of change,” and reiterated its commitment to building a democratic Sudan rooted in justice, equal citizenship, and the rule of law.

The statement also called for a comprehensive and peaceful resolution to Sudan’s crisis, one that dismantles Islamist power structures and ensures equitable participation for historically marginalized communities.

“The continuation of this war… serves only the Islamists who have returned to power on the ruins of a fragmented and devastated nation,” the RSF warned, vowing not to allow Sudan to become “a new destination for the Houthis,” referencing parallels with the prolonged conflict in Yemen.

The RSF concluded by envisioning a future Sudan built on the foundations of freedom, equality, justice, and peace, where dictatorship, racism, and tyranny have no place.

Sudan has been gripped by civil war since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces, plunging the country into humanitarian catastrophe and deepening political divisions. As the conflict drags on, efforts to broker peace have repeatedly stalled amid mutual recriminations and international hesitancy.