Does the dismissal of Youssef Ezzat reflect a hidden crisis in the rebel Rapid Support Forces?

In a surprising move, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti,” dismissed his advisor for political affairs, Youssef Ibrahim Ezzat, without specifying reasons. Observers considered this step to reflect a hidden crisis in the Rapid Support Forces, due to Hemedti consecrating military and political powers in the hands of his deputy and older brother, Abdel Rahim Dagalo.

A statement from the spokesman for the Rapid Support Forces announced that the decision was issued on Wednesday to dismiss the advisor, and that it comes within the framework of routine internal arrangements, as Hemedti directed the relevant authorities to take what is necessary to implement it.

Ezzat worked as a political advisor to Hemedti since the beginning of 2021. He was then Vice-President of the Sovereignty Council. He was active among the political and civil forces and became an envoy to the commander of the Rapid Support Forces and its first spokesman after the outbreak of fighting with the Sudanese army in mid-April 2023.

He explains in a tweet that he cannot work under the leadership of Abdul Rahim Dagalo due to his experience and convictions, and because he is a civilian and works from a position where he is not subject to military orders, and is not part of the structures of the Rapid Support Forces, as he put it, and he said, “I asked to be relieved because my assignment is linked to a personal relationship before I It will be a family that has linked me with brother Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo since childhood.”

He pointed out that the commander of the Rapid Support Forces was the one who requested his presence from exile to Sudan in 2011, to contribute with him in dealing with political work and its complexities under the circumstances of that period.