Kassala , April 20(Darfur 24)
The eastern Sudan region is witnessing feverish activity in attracting new fighters by new and old armed movements, which intensifies the civil polarization that the east is witnessing amid fears that the increased armament will deepen tribal tensions.
The escalation of events after the outbreak of war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023, reinforced the armament in Kassala State under the pretext of protecting and securing the eastern region and supporting the armed forces, even though the region suffered from the spread of weapons.
The growing armament, in light of the fluid security situation that Sudan is witnessing, heralds a new phase in which militants control the economic and political conditions. In this report, “Darfur 24” monitors the armed groups in the east of the country and their history.
Eastern Sudan Liberation Forces
The Eastern Sudan Liberation Forces, led by Ibrahim Abdullah, known as “Ibrahim Dunya,” are considered the newest armed group in the eastern region, as they graduated the first batch of their fighters last March.
Its leader, Ibrahim Dunia, says that they are forces formed in order to defend the land, unity and cohesion of the eastern Sudanese community, while those close to the movement say that it includes 130 fighters, as recruitment operations are taking place in training centers in the Tamrat region within the Eritrean border, and it is also working to establish a political wing.
Aorta forces
The Eastern Orta forces of the Popular Front for Liberation and Justice, led by Amin Daoud, emerged in late 2023, as they began training fighters in the Garmaika region, near the Sudanese-Eritrean border, and they have a force estimated at three thousand fighters.
Its leader, Al-Amin Daoud, says that the Orta forces were formed in response to the situation in Sudan after the war, in order to confront the international agenda and ambitions that exploit the internal disturbances in the country to advance their plans.
Gathering of parties and forces of eastern Sudan
The former leader of the Beja Congress, Shaybah Dirar, leads the group of eastern Sudanese parties and forces that emerged in late 2021, whose forces are now present in the Dim Medina area in the city of Port Sudan. In September 2023, they tried to set up a base in the streets of the region, but the army was quick to remove it, resulting in an exchange of fire for a period of time. Shortly before the situation is contained.
There is no clear number of fighters from the Eastern Sudan Group of Parties and Forces, which is being accused of being an arm of army intelligence, after it contributed to the closure of the country’s ports and the roads linking the capital, Khartoum, with eastern Sudan. This closure was the main prelude to the military coup carried out by the commanders of the army and the Rapid Support on October 21. 2021.
National Movement for Justice and Development
This movement is led by the widely influential cleric in eastern Sudan, Muhammad Tahir Suleiman Beitai, and it has forces stationed in the areas of Telkok and Hamashkorib in the northeastern countryside of Kassala State, where its fighters come from the Hadandawa tribe.
The movement, which includes two thousand fighters, established a training center within the Eritrean border, from which the first batches graduated at the beginning of this April, and leaked photos from inside the training center indicate that it is recruiting women into its ranks.
Youth Change and Justice Movement
This movement, which was founded in 2010 under the leadership of Khaled III, is located in Darfur, the Blue Nile, and the West Gash region of Kassala State.
The movement’s forces were integrated into the Justice and Equality Movement led by Jibril Ibrahim, before it split and joined the new faction of the movement led by Mansour Arbab, which disbanded after the violence that took place in the Blue Nile region.
The movement held a Ramadan iftar on April 4 in the city of Kassala, during which it announced its support for the army in defeating the Rapid Support Forces, considering the armed forces a national institution that unites the conscience of the Sudanese people.
Free black
It is a political party with an armed arm that was founded in October 1988. In 2004, it joined the Eastern Sudan Front, a political alliance that included the Beja Congress led by Musa Muhammad Ahmed and the Eastern Democratic Party led by Amna Dirar, before it was divided due to disagreements.
The Free Lions shared power with the regime of deposed President Omar al-Bashir, under the peace agreement signed in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on October 14, 2006.
The Free Lions, led by Mabrouk Mubarak Slim, intensified the work of recruiting fighters into its ranks after the outbreak of the war, as it began to graduate new batches, and its forces are stationed in the rural area west of Kassala.
Beja Conference
It was founded in 1957 as the first regional political party in Sudan and has a military arm that participated within the opposition Democratic Rally forces in a series of attacks along the border with the state of Eritrea during the period of the previous regime before signing a peace agreement with it.
After the war, the Beja Congress, led by Musa Mohammed Ahmed, was active in recruiting fighters at a training center in the Sawa region of Eritrea. It says it has three thousand fighters, but those close to the Congress reported that its forces do not exceed a thousand fighters.
Sudan Shield
The Sudan Shield Forces were established under the leadership of Abu Aqla Kikel in late 2021, in the Butana Plain, which extends from the east of the island to Gedaref and the Nile River, initially declaring their rejection of the peace agreement that the transitional government signed with the armed movements in October 2020.
At the beginning of the outbreak of the conflict, the Sudan Shield Forces participated in fighting alongside the army in the East Nile region in the capital, Khartoum, before they unexpectedly joined the Rapid Support Forces, which appointed Kickel as the commander of their operations in Gezira State after they took control of it.
In conclusion, armed groups in eastern Sudan usually carry out their recruitment operations on a tribal basis, which increases the risks of civil division and deepens the crisis of peaceful coexistence between social components, and this leaves the door open to resolving tribal and political disputes with weapons.