Sudanese Police Deploy Central Reserve Unites in Khartoum

Central Reserve Forces deployed in Khartoum on April 29, 2023

April 29, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese police deployed the Central Reserve Forces in the streets of the capital Khartoum to maintain security, amid calls from the Rapid Support Forces to withdraw them so as not to deal with them as enemies.

The police press office said in a statement that “police forces are deployed on the roads to secure public and private property and arrest robbers” who storm abandoned homes after the eruption of the armed conflict in Khartoum.

The media office posted photos on social media showing dozens of heavily armed Central Reserve soldiers on four wheels vehicles equipped with machine guns.

The army said units of the Central Reserve Police had been deployed in areas south of Khartoum and would be deployed successively in Khartoum areas.

These police units are considered fighting forces that participated in the fight against the armed movements in Darfur and some areas of Kordofan.

On March 21, 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on the Central Reserve Police of Sudan for serious human rights violations committed during pro-democracy protests. The move was made after reports of excessive use of force and violence against peaceful demonstrators.

According to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Central Reserve Police force had joined the army in the Al-Shajara area, south of the capital Khartoum, adding that the army was preparing to attack their position in the areas.

The RSF called on police chiefs to withdraw all its forces and prevent them from participating in the attack.

“The police are a civilian-national body that should not take sides. We warn the police forces and their leadership not to interfere so that we do not have to treat them as an enemy,” the RSF said in a statement.

The situation in Sudan remains tense, with fierce clashes erupting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15 in 12 of Sudan’s 18 states.

Although the fighting is mainly concentrated in the capital city of Khartoum, the violence has spread to other areas particularly in Darfur, leading to concerns over the safety and security of civilians.

(ST)