Members of Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) celebrate as they lead dozens of African nationals, caught as they tried to cross into Libya illegally, in front of the media a desert area called Gouz Abudloaa, about 100 kilometres north of Khartoum, on September 25, 2019. – Sudanese paramilitaries said they have captured 138 Africans, including dozens of Sudanese, trying to enter neighbouring Libya illegally. (Photo by ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP) (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images)
A Sudanese militia that once drew international condemnation for spearheading a bloody anti-insurgency campaign in the western region of Darfur has a new, unlikely message: Please wash your hands. As Sudan girds for another sort of battle, this time against the coronavirus pandemic, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo is taking centre stage. The paramilitary force is building on its rise to near the top of Sudan’s transitional government after backing 2019’s overthrow of one-time sponsor, former president Omar al-Bashir. The militia that emerged from Darfur’s Janjaweed — the “devils on horseback” — and was accused of killing 100 protesters in June now runs a quarantine centre, disinfects the streets and distributes equipment and medical advice, lavishly promoting it all on social media. One cartoon on Facebook shows its fighters squaring off against a monstrous fanged depiction of the virus clinging like King Kong to the egg-shaped Corinthia Hotel in Khartoum, the capital.
SOURCE: BUSINESS DAY LIVE