JEM’s Abdul Aziz Ashar: Participating in the War a National Duty, Our Forces Shall be Integrated into SAF

Interview with Sabah Musa

After successive defeats, the Rapid Support Militia have continued committing heinous crimes. They turned the matter into an arena of revenge against civilian facilities and the killing of unarmed innocents, and they also seek with all their might and with the support of its backers to control Al Fashir, so that they would be able to form their alleged government. But the gallant defenses of the army, the joint forces and the mobilized persons have stood as an impregnable barrier in front of RSF militia advances. SAF are in the meantime preparing the required equipment, material needed and plans to lift the siege on the city of Al Fashir and liberate the remainder of Darfur states.

In order to find out the latest developments in the military and political situation in Sudan, Sudanhorizon met with the advisor to the of the Justice and Equality Movement Chairman of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Dr. Abdul Aziz Asher, who spoke about all these issues, responded to the accusations levelled against JEM, and clarified the movement’s position on these accusations… The following are excerpts from that interview:

– Sudanhorizon: First thing… What is your comment on the massacre that took place in al-Salha, in which the Rapid Support militia killed dozens of civilians, including children?

– Ashar: This is part of the repeated pattern of behavior by the militia, as the massacres they committed against the Sudanese people are great, and the militia turned the war into revenge practices. This is because its barbaric forces and hirelings could not reach any military target, so they resorted to bombing and destroying vital facilities and killing innocent unarmed citizens, which is a miserable behavior, leaving them with only pockets that will be cleaned. The militia wants to prolong the war with retaliatory practices.

– Sudanhorizon: How so? And the militia now has strategic drones that can strike at important distant targets?

-Ashar: They have now shifted from conventional warfare with huge potential, to this method, which confirms the support of those behind them, but it is the last alternative, they want to prolong the war, and in my opinion the comprehensive invasion that is taking place now will reach a stage where it is difficult to use these drones, and we will see from which country these drones are launched.

– Sudanhorizon: Your statement is in line with the statements made by Lieutenant General Al-Burhan that we will not hear about these marches soon. Is there a plan to import more sophisticated weapons?

– Ashar: Sudan has the right to import weapons, equipment and technology to defend itself, and I confirm that the militia will soon disappear and will clean up the remaining pockets in it.

– Sudanhorizon: – which pockets?… They still control four states of Darfur and besiege Al Fashir and areas in Kordofan?

– Ashar: They do not control Darfur, they control certain areas in it, they took advantage of the siege of Al Fashir, and this does not reflect control, we control the desert, North Darfur, and north of El Geneina to the Libyan border, and they do not have any presence in these areas, they have a presence only in some large cities such as Al-Daein, Nyala and Zalingei, and we know that and they also know it, and we will succeed in expelling them from and around Al Fashir.

– Sudanhorizon: They have a parallel government that they will form soon?

– Ashar: There is no chance of a parallel government for a group that has no legitimacy, no real existence, it is just groups that implement anti-Sudanese agendas, even citizens have fled their areas. The RSF does not control Darfur and there is no chance for a parallel government.

– Sudanhorizon: There are many accusations against the Justice and Equality Movement that it wants the price of its participation in the war perhaps with a greater share of power.

– Ashar: Justice and equality is a political movement, so what is wrong with that, this is the movement’s program, it addresses the issues of Sudan and has a political project, and those who accuse the movement fear its future, we have an integrated project and a vision for all the issues raised. The movement is going to turn into a major political party that accommodates all Sudanese, after its forces are integrated into the armed forces, but our participation in the war is a national and historical duty, but those who are conducting a campaign against us are seeking to question the objective of our participation in the war, and when I stated that our forces are the largest in the war after the army, I was responding to these accusations, and we will remain in this position until the militia is defeated, and our forces will be integrated into the army and the movement is converted into a political party.

– Sudanhorizon: What about the accusations that the JEM chairman and other JEM leaders, headed by Dr. Jibril Ibrahim, travel outside Sudan and are not on the ground?

-Ashar: Dr. Jibril is a Minister of Finance and a political leader and he is now in Washington negotiating with the World Bank on behalf of Sudan, and seeks to address economic issues, and provide resources and equipment, and if Jibril does not do that, they will also protest and say that he did not carry out his duty as he should. Jibril is not only a military leader, we have military leaders in the field, and we are political leaders, yet Jibril prepared the forces to lift the siege on Al Fashir, and it is not surprising that the militia groups question our role and this is clear and known to us, and we take turn in the field to go out and we return therein, and there are certain parties involved in the campaign against us

– Sudanhorizon: Who are these actors?

– Ashar: The militia and its partners in political work, and some small political groups in Sudan, and spurred by political jealousy and fear of the movement’s political future, and other groups find us initiators in all aspects, political and humanitarian initiatives and the return of the displaced, and we have a huge share in the military and executive field led by the head of the movement, the owner of the idea of an alternative capital in the war, there are forces that fear this emergence of the movement, we realize their motives for this fear and deal with it calmly.

– Sudanhorizon: What is your assessment of the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue, why has the momentum around it ended recently, and do you see its importance in wartime?

– Ashar: I think that the Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue is important, as it puts a comprehensive vision in relation to the post-war vision, naturally the voice of the battle is the loudest now, but it is important to develop plans, and there must be a political perception, because the crisis is originally political, and there must be a political project to manage the transitional period, reconstruction, development and people’s livelihood, and there must be a perception of the transitional phase, the form of government in it, its program, how it is formed, how the transition takes place, and the perceptions that address the outstanding issues that have remained. Then we will face a thorny situation if we are not prepared for it, the perceptions are ready now, and it is natural that the political momentum decreases due to the escalation of the war and its developments, but having a clear vision and vision is useful.

– sudanhorizon: Can we set a time for the end of the war?

– Ashar: It is difficult to determine a set a specific time for the end of the war, but I can say that the end of the war is imminent, and there is a new reality and hope for the end of the crisis and the beginning of a new future, and this requires forgetting the formalities and turning to a new vision at the level of the sacrifices of the Sudanese people and their aspiration for a better future. The end of the war is imminent and there is no sane person who builds his future with rebellion

– sudanhorizon: Who do you refer to when you talked about forgetting formalities?

– Ashar: I am addressing groups that support the SAF and that are drowning in simple formalities.

– Sudanhorizon: And what would you say to groups that stand by the Rapid Support?

– Ashar: I tell them that they are marching within on a closed avenue, that the end of this road is not far away, and they should try this road to see the end soon. The militia is disappearing and every day is decreasing like a snowball and no sane person shall build his political future with it, every day the militia commits heinous crimes, and every day there are international condemnations against it, all of them have a similar future, these groups went with the militia for personal and temporary interests, but they bet on wrong options.

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