Aggression Against the People

Dr Abdel Azim Hassan – Lawyer

It is no longer possible to explain what is happening in Sudan as merely a rebellion by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the Armed Forces, a struggle for power between advocates of a return to civilian rule, or even a battle against what is known as the “State of 1956”. The coup project carried out by the RSF militia has turned into open aggression against the Sudanese people themselves and their right to life, security and stability. Anyone genuinely seeking to govern a people, liberate them or restore their civilian state cannot make the destruction of the foundations of their lives a priority. Their priority should instead be to make life easier for them, safeguard their achievements and build on what already exists, rather than tear it down.

Yet the militia’s conduct from the very first day of the war revealed a different approach, characterised by killing, rape, looting, the storming of citizens’ homes, their destruction and the stripping of their occupants of everything they owned.

This aggression did not stop at the boundaries of the cities overrun by the militia. It continued even after its withdrawal from those areas. Instead of allowing citizens the opportunity to return to their homes and rebuild what the war had destroyed, the militia and its supporters turned to using strategic drones to target airports, electricity and water stations, as well as healthcare and public service facilities. It is as though the intention is to ensure that citizens have nothing to help them rebuild their lives, even after the militia’s military control has receded.

This goes beyond a desire to return to power or exclude political opponents. Targeting what remains of the country’s infrastructure raises a more alarming question about the ultimate objective of this aggression. Is it to eliminate every foundation of the state, so no future authority has anything on which to build, and so citizens are left with nothing to sustain themselves or to demand their rights?

Those who claim to be fighting for the people cannot wage war against them in their homes, their security, their livelihoods and their future. Governing is an objective that can only be achieved with the consent of the people. Destroying their lives, however, is no path to power; it is an act of aggression against the entire nation.

Shortlink: https://sudanhorizon.com/?p=19920