According to a report published by the “Africa Intelligence” website, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided financial support to help in the defection of leaders from the Rapid Support Forces and their joining the Sudanese Army, within efforts to reshape the military and political balances in Sudan and to limit the influence of the Islamic Movement within the military institution.
The report quoted sources stating that the support included Major General Nour Ahmed Adam “Nour Al-Qubba” and Ali Rizq Allah “Al-Safana”, explaining that Al-Safana’s joining the army in May came within arrangements that included financial support ranging between 800 thousand and 2.5 million dollars, while “Nour Al-Qubba” received about 2.5 million dollars in exchange for his defection along with a number of his elements and equipment.
According to the report, Riyadh adopts an approach that combines military and political support, with the aim of reducing the influence of the Islamists within the Sudanese Army, and pressuring the authority in Port Sudan to push for political concessions that pave the way for a broader settlement.
It added that Saudi Arabia conditioned the continuation of its support for the Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on distancing the Islamists from positions of influence within the army. However, Burhan informed the Saudi side, according to the sources, that he is not currently able to implement this step due to the absence of a ready political alternative.
The report also indicated that Riyadh has opened communication channels with civilian figures, including parties in the “Sumoud” alliance linked to the former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, to discuss possible roles in the next phase.
“Africa Intelligence” concluded its report by noting that any attempt to reshape power in Sudan under Burhan’s leadership may face objections, as it could lead to reproducing the legitimacy crisis in a different form instead of addressing it.
The recent political and military moves by the Sudanese Army Commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, are driven by significant strategic variables taking place behind the scenes, represented by the entry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a direct financial and political player to re-engineer the balances of field forces.
Regional support is no longer limited to the diplomatic tracks in the “Jeddah Platform”, but has turned into a pragmatic approach based on financing the strike of hard power and dismantling the Rapid Support Forces front from within through the weapon of “political money” and buying tribal and field loyalties influential in the Darfur region.
These financial flows and political support for Burhan are linked to strict strategic conditions set by Riyadh, which impose the distancing of Islamic Movement elements and the previous leadership system from the levers of influence and decision-making within the military institution. This is the approach that Burhan is trying to maneuver around under the pretext of the lack of readiness of the civilian alternative at the present time, while Saudi Arabia opens communication channels with civilian forces (such as the “Sumoud” alliance linked to Abdullah Hamdok) to prepare a parallel political scene that ensures the end of the war without reproducing the military legitimacy crisis.
