Sudan: Army chief freezes bank accounts of rival paramilitary group

Sudan’s military chief has ordered a freeze on all bank accounts belonging to a rival paramilitary force. There have been weeks of fighting between the two sides across Sudan, which has pushed the country to the brink of war. The order, issued on Sunday by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, will target the official accounts of the Rapid Support Forces in a Sudanese bank, as well as the accounts of all companies belonging to the group, state-run news agency Suna reported. It is not clear what immediate effect the freezing of bank account transactions will have on the RSF and how Burhan’s orders will be implemented.

The military chief also announced the replacement of the governor of Sudan’s Central Bank. It is a move that is linked to the freezing of transactions in bank accounts. Over the past decade, RSF has amassed vast wealth through the gradual acquisition of Sudanese financial institutions and gold reserves. Since mid-April, an ongoing power struggle between the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has forced thousands of people to flee to neighboring countries. Chaos has spread to most parts of the country since the conflict broke out.

The capital, Khartoum, has turned into an urban battlefield and deadly tribal conflict continues in the western Darfur region. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 600 people, including civilians, have died in the violence. Last Thursday, the army and the RSF signed an agreement in the Saudi city of Jeddah, promising safe passage for civilians fleeing the conflict and protection for humanitarian operations in the East African nation. International efforts, led by Saudi Arabia and the United States, are underway to turn Thursday’s agreement into a permanent truce.

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