Sudanese Rebel Rapid Support Forces leader Hemedti meets civilian leaders on tour

The leader of Sudanese Rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo met on Monday with civilian pro-democracy politicians in Addis Ababa, the latest stop in a foreign tour as his troops take the upper-hand in a devastating nine-month war.

The meeting comes as General Hemedti, has appeared to present himself as a possible leader of a country now home to the world’s largest displacement crisis, with little aid reaching millions in need amid threats of famine.

He has also been received by leaders in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, which army head and Sudan’s head of state Abdel Fattah al-Burhan described as “acts of hostility.”

The threat of further expansion of the RSF, which has taken hold of the center and most of the west of the country, has prompted calls for civilians to take up arms, with observers warning of all-out civil war.

In a speech before the meeting on Monday, Hemedti apologised for the violations in Gezira and said that RSF leadership was rounding up “rogue actors.”

“We ask the regional and international community to look optimistically at our struggle… towards Sudan’s new future after achieving peace,” echoing calls for equality and democracy long-espoused by the civilian politicians he met with on Monday.