October 25, 2024 (PARIS) – Darfur Governor Mini Arko Minawi said that the deputy commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had proposed that they join forces against the army to secure the western region’s secession. Minawi, speaking to Radio France Internationale (RFI) during a visit to Paris, said he rejected the proposal from Abdel Rahim Daglo, which was made during meetings in N’Djamena in June. “We disagreed about his proposal to separate Darfur from Sudan. He suggested I join him to wrest Darfur from the army’s control,” Minawi said, adding that Daglo had evaded questions about the purpose behind his proposal. The RSF, led by Abdel Rahim’s brother Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has been battling Sudan’s army since April 2023 in a conflict that has reawakened a decades-old conflict in Darfur. Minawi’s accusation is the first public claim of a secessionist plot linked to the RSF, though there have been widespread reports of foreign interference and agendas aiming to divide Sudan. A senior leader in the Sudan Liberation Movement, who declined to be named, confirmed Minawi’s account to Sudan Tribune, saying a prominent RSF figure had told him that international officials were inquiring about the possibility of establishing a viable …

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