Tribal leaders and activists from the Fur community in Sudan’s Central Darfur have voiced strong opposition to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)’s endorsement of a newly established “emirate” for an Arab group that recently migrated from the Central African Republic. The Fur leaders are concerned that this move is part of a larger strategy to empower external groups at the expense of the native population.
A video released by RSF-affiliated media showed a celebration held by a group known as “Awlad Baraka and Mubarak,” marking the formation of the new emirate in a Fur-dominated region. Brigadier General Mohamed Adam Bangoz, the RSF’s commander for the Central Darfur sector, addressed the event.
The establishment of this emirate has drawn sharp criticism from the Fur community, with calls for intervention to prevent what they view as the occupation of their ancestral lands by Arab groups, supported by the RSF, who have controlled most of the area since late last year.
“We absolutely reject the creation of a new emirate for Arab tribes in Central Darfur,” said a Fur tribal leader, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, during an interview with local media. The leader further explained that the “Awlad Baraka and Mubarak” faction is a sub-group of the Salamat Arab tribe, which recently migrated from the Central African Republic and has no legitimate claim to land or resources in the region.
While small groups from this tribe were present before the outbreak of war in areas south of Zalingei, the tribal leader noted that their numbers swelled significantly when the RSF began recruiting mercenaries from neighboring countries, such as Chad and the Central African Republic. He argued that the RSF is using these tribes to occupy historically Fur territories and consolidate its own power.
Abbas Abdelkabir, a human rights advocate in Central Darfur, told Sudan Tribune that the emirate’s establishment is part of a long-standing effort to alter the region’s demographic makeup. According to him, the RSF and its allied Arab tribes establish parallel tribal administrations with greater authority than the traditional tribal leadership when they take control of new territories.
Abdelkabir cited the appointment of Mahmoud Sosal, an influential figure and former official under Omer al-Bashir’s regime, as the “emir” of the Arab tribes, giving him powers that surpass those of the traditional Fur leaders known as “Shartai.” Sosal, who previously served as commissioner of Um Dukhun on the Central African Republic border, has been accused of serious abuses against the Fur people in Central Darfur, particularly in the Makjar, Bindisi, and Delij areas.
Abdelkabir further accused the RSF of repressing any tribal administration in Central Darfur that does not align with their authority, silencing them from speaking out about atrocities, including land seizures.
Attempts to obtain comments from the RSF or representatives of the Awlad Baraka faction were unsuccessful.
In August 2023, representatives from the Rizeigat, Salamat, and Fallata tribes in Central Darfur publicly declared their support for the RSF and vowed to fight alongside them. However, Al-Dumnakawi Sissi Fadl Sissi, the highest tribal authority in the region and a prominent member of the Fur tribe, refused to endorse the declaration.