Sudan’s RSF Accuse Tigray People’s Liberation Front of Backing SAF

Sudanese warring party Rapid Support Forces has officially accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front Fighters of fighting in Sudan in support of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Civil war broke out in Sudan in April last year involving Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Hamdan Dagalo and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by military chief Abdul Fattah al Burhan. Several regional and international players are involved in Sudanese civil war. Around a month ago, Sudanese military lodged a formal complaint with UN Security Council against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accusing the latter of supporting RSF.

The Rapid Support Forces last night issued a statement stating that it had documented evidence confirming the presence of Tigray People’s Liberation Front members fighting alongside Al Burhan forces against the RSF.

More than 60,000 Tigray refugees crossed into neighboring Sudan from Tigray during the two year long war in Northern Ethiopia which ended in November 2022. Ethiopian federal government and Amhara regional government claimed that the refugees were actually TPLF members and Sudanese military war arming them.

Tigray fighters launched attacks from Sudanese territory on the Ethiopian federal and Amhara regional forces more than once in 2021 and 2022. TPLF and Amhara government are locked in a dispute over a strategic disputed territory which shares border with Sudan. Western Tigray (Humera, Welkait, Tsegede) is contested by both Tigray and Amhara regions. The western zone is now controlled by Ethiopian federal forces and Amhara militias.

Tigray is not geographically connected to Sudan now as western zone is not under Tigray administrative control. But TPLF has been warning the federal government, calling for a speedy restoration of its borders.

It seem that Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s involvement in Sudan civil war is linked to a possible need for a military offensive by TPLF to recapture western zone.

Interestingly, Ethiopian federal government is seen as pro RSF though both RSF chief Hamdan Dagalo and SAF chief Abdul Fattah al Burhan visited Ethiopia last year.

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