Spokesperson of the Joint Force of the Armed Movements to Sudanhorizon: Al-fasher Was Attacked 130 Times by the Militia, Yet It Managed to Break Their Solid Power

There is a Plan to Expel the Militias and Their Mercenaries From All Cities of Darfur

In the course of military operations and the war waged by the Sudanese army against the Rapid Support Militia, whether in the Darfur region or the Al-Faw and Nile River axis, the name of the Joint Force of the Armed Struggle Movements emerged a year after the outbreak of war in Sudan, the Sudanhorizon news website posed questions about the military situation to Major Ahmed Hussein Mustafa, the official spokesman for the Joint Force of the Armed Struggle Movements, who is from the city of Nyala, and graduated from the University of Gezira – College of Animal Production, and also holds the position of military spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement.

We Discovered That the War is Not Between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Militia, but Rather the War is Between the Sudanese People and the Militia and Their Mercenaries Coming From Libya, Chad, Niger, the Central African Republic and Mali.

Interview: Telal Ismail

What does the joint force in Darfur mean, and when was it formed?

First, a salute to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the joint force of the armed struggle movements, to the popular force for self-defence (Qishn), and to all the heroes and heroines of El Fasher.

The joint force was formed by the armed struggle movements that signed the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan, which was formed after the outbreak of the war on 15 April last year. At the beginning of its formation, it declared a clear position: neutrality from this war and conditional neutrality. Its goals were clear and announced: protecting civilians and their property; protecting humanitarian, relief and commercial convoys; protecting the headquarters and homes of international organisations, United Nations agencies and national organisations; and protecting the roads linking the cities of the Darfur region.

We Don’t React, and We Have High Respect for Al-Daien

But after the attack launched by the Rapid Support Militia on the cities of Darfur region in Nyala, Zalingei and Al-Geneina, and what we witnessed of serious violations committed in those cities, and since all of those violations were documented by the militia itself, and witnessed and reported by international organisations, and all Sudanese are witnesses to those crimes such as ethnic cleansing, genocide and burying people alive in the city of Al-Geneina, and also the targeting based on ethnicity that occurred in the cities of Nyala and Zalingei, and also the violations that occurred in all Sudanese towns and villages that the militia entered, from barbaric killing and raping Sudanese girls and looting and stealing the property of the Sudanese people… For all of these reasons, the neutrality was broken, and we responded to the call of Sudan and the Sudanese. We confronted and fought on all fronts, whether in Darfur or in every place or city in Sudan where the militias and their mercenaries are present.

A year after the outbreak of the war, you announced your participation in the fighting alongside the Sudanese army. Why was this position delayed?
Yes, we were neutral, as I mentioned earlier. Still, a year after the outbreak of the war, it was confirmed to us that the war was not between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Militia. Still, rather than the war between the militia and their mercenaries coming from Libya, Chad, Niger, Central Africa, Mali and all the Arabs of the diaspora, and the Sudanese people, we responded to the call of the homeland, and now all Sudanese are resisting these militias and their mercenaries.

How do you assess the current field situation in El Fasher and its surroundings?

Operations are going excellently throughout North Darfur, and in the city of El Fasher itself, more than one hundred and thirty attacks were repelled, in which the militias and their mercenaries suffered heavy losses, their solid force was eliminated, and their power was completely broken.

Can the joint forces advance to control the cities of the Darfur region controlled by the Rapid Support Militia?

Yes, there is a plan to expel the militias and their mercenaries from all the cities of Darfur. It will see the light soon, and not only in the cities of Darfur, but we will pursue them in every city in Sudan where these militias are present, as the joint force is present in several regions of Sudan.

There are fears that the joint forces will become a brutal force in the Darfur region after their victory over the Rapid Support Militia, which poses a threat to peaceful coexistence in the region.

The joint force is a revolutionary force that emerged from the suffering of the Sudanese people and its members presented great struggles and sacrifices for two decades and fought these militias when they were tools of the defunct National Congress Party. Now, we are doing our national duty in the same manner and sharing responsibility with the rest of the sons of the homeland against the same Janjaweed when they became external tools to carry out the second round of genocide against our steadfast people in all parts of the country.

Therefore, we have not and will not brutalise anyone, whether in the Darfur region or in all parts of Sudan.

Do the joint forces want to enter Al-Daien, the capital of East Darfur State, as a reaction to the current war, or is it a target within a military operation?

We are a revolutionary force that does not deal with reactions, and also, our war in the past was with the National Congress regime and its militias. We are fighting the Rapid Support Forces as a terrorist militia in which all the criminals, mercenaries and Arabs of West African countries have gathered to fight the Sudanese people (and Al-Hodeiba, the mother of homes – meaning the city of Al-Daien – we have the utmost respect and appreciation for it).

What is the secret of the steadfastness of the city of El Fasher despite the multiple attacks?

The city of El Fasher, or as it is called (Adab Al-Asi), has a long heroic and struggling history, and also the feeling of the people of El Fasher that what is happening to their city now is a foreign invasion and not just a war between the Sudanese, and the evidence is abundant such as the death of the leader of the Chadian FACT Front, Mahdi Bashir, in the battles of El Fasher, and also the death of the Chadian Idris Barkawi in the battles of Wadi Ambar and the death of large numbers of mercenaries of Libyan and Nigerian nationalities in the battles of El Fasher city, all these circumstances led to an increase in the will of the heroes and warriors of El Fasher city from the Sudanese army, the joint force, the popular resistance, the (Qishn) forces and all the residents of the city, as they now stand as an impregnable barrier in front of these thugs and their mercenaries.

The killing of the leader of the Rapid Support Militia, Ali Yaqoub, remained a subject of controversy. Are there any details about it?
The deceased and the militiaman Ali Yaqoub were tyrannical and defied the will of the residents and heroes of the city of El Fasher. He spoke like a pharaoh and said (I am riding the necks of men), and he probably did not know the history of this city that he declared that he would bring down.

On Friday, 14/6, he attacked the city with great force. Still, our heroes presented a great historical epic, which is one of the fierce battles that the city witnessed and will remain in the conscience of the people of El Fasher in particular and the people of the region in general. Before the attack, he recorded and bombarded the city randomly from the outside with no less than 500 Howitzer shells, a forty-eight-caliber mortar, and a 120 mm mortar. He died in that battle, and the attacking force was completely eliminated.