The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan’s paramilitary group, demonstrate how militias can infiltrate state institutions with disastrous effects. Created in 2013 by dictator Omar al-Bashir, the RSF has become a significant destabilizing force, leading to a war with the military that has severely devastated the country. This conflict has killed over 15,500 people and displaced close to 10 million others. The RSF, originally from the Janjaweed militias, expanded through gold mining, smuggling, and mercenary activities. Led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF gained power post-2019, leveraging international business deals. According to a political analyst, militias with state-capture ambitions begin as pro-government forces, albeit with signals that attempts to suppress them will lead to all-out war. This playbook, executed by the RSF, has resulted in it controlling Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, as well as other regions in the country.
SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION
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