Sudanese Gen Mohamed Dagalo, the commander of the country’s powerful Rapid Support Forces militia, was in Moscow on Thursday on a visit that has fuelled concerns he could be planning a power grab.
Local media reports in Sudan this week warned that Gen Dagalo, better known by his nickname Hemedti, might be positioning himself to facilitate a military takeover that would make him the source of ultimate, behind-the-scenes power.
With Russian forces now engaged in a major military assault on Ukraine and with Sudan still paralysed by political crisis after a military coup last year, Gen Dagalo’s visit to Moscow appears curiously timed.
Sudanese analysts and experts say the stop-off in the Russian capital, which followed visits to South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Gulf, was intended to shore up the general’s position in Sudan.
“Hemedti wants to secure his position in Sudan’s current balance of power. He’s looking for powerful backers at home and abroad, perhaps for his own coup,” said Rasha Awad, editor of the online news service Al Taghyeer.
“He is acting like someone who is laying the foundation for something down the road. He is definitely not making these visits for the benefit of the state.”
The RSF said Gen Dagalo was in Moscow at the invitation of the Russian government and that he would meet senior officials there.
On Thursday, he met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to a Facebook post by the Sudanese general. The pair discussed bilateral issues and ways to implement “existing” agreements between the two countries.
“Sudanese-Russian relations are deep and entrenched. We look forward to making them even stronger and taking them to wider horizons," he said.
But analysts say the Kremlin wants a naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast and that this was likely to be on the agenda. Gen Dagalo, they said, also wanted to buy Russian arms and secure training for his officers in Russia.
The establishment of a Russian naval base in Sudan was agreed in 2017 by Al Bashir and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but that agreement was never introduced.
Russia is known to have been pressing Khartoum on the issue as part of its efforts to maintain a significant military presence in the Red Sea.
“The file of the naval base in Sudan is the most vital item in relations with Moscow now. The Sudanese military had some reservations about the size and role of the base. Russia did not like that and wants the process to be sped up,” said Sudanese analyst Omar Abdel Aziz.
The RSF’s genesis are rooted in the Darfur conflict in the 2000s when Al Bashir enlisted the militia to fight alongside government troops against mostly ethnic African rebels. It is widely blamed for atrocities against civilians in Darfur.
More recently, it has used revenues from gold mines it controls to broaden its vast economic interests.
Gen Dagalo owes his military rank and the formalisation of his militia to Al Bashir, who relied on the RSF to counter the power of the military, which has a track record of seizing power in coups since Sudan gained independence in 1956.
Gen Dagalo, however, sided with the army generals who removed Al Bashir in 2019.
Now, the RSF’s battled-hardened and heavily armed fighters are menacingly deployed on the streets of Khartoum and maintain a presence across the vast Afro-Arab nation.
Gen Dagalo has presented himself as a reliable Russian ally since his arrival in Moscow, where he told a television interviewer he supported the Kremlin in its dispute with Ukraine.
“Russia has the right to defend its citizens. That right is enshrined in constitutions and international law,” he said.
His visit to Moscow comes at a time when Sudan is deeply mired in political and economic crises sparked when army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan seized power on October 25.
That coup, which was zealously supported by the RSF commander, derailed Sudan’s democratic transition after Al Bashir’s removal in a popular uprising.
The power seizure has met a wave of mass street protests that killed more than 80 people and injured thousands. It was also met with strong international condemnation led by the US, which froze hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of aid to Sudan.
Washington has since been a vocal critic of the Sudanese military, calling for a return to civilian rule and decrying the use of deadly force against peaceful protesters.
“The visit is clearly related to the American-Russian rivalry in the Red Sea and Africa,” said Sudanese analyst Mohammed Sheneidy.
“I see closer co-operation with Moscow as we move forward with Sudan helping in the promotion of Russian interests in Africa.”
Mr Abdel Aziz, the Sudanese analyst, said Gen Dagalo may be seeing an opportunity in winning over Russia as Sudan’s political crisis shows no sign of easing any time soon.
“Hemedti may be viewing the exclusion of civilians from power after the coup as an opportune moment to strike a deal with Moscow on the Red Sea base in return for its support,” he said.
“Russia is a superpower whose support will be vastly useful to him.”
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Specs
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Rajasthan Royals 153-5 (17.5 ov)
Delhi Daredevils 60-4 (6 ov)
Rajasthan won by 10 runs (D/L method)
UAE FIXTURES
October 18 – 7.30pm, UAE v Oman, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 19 – 7.30pm, UAE v Ireland, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 21 – 2.10pm, UAE v Hong Kong, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 22 – 2.10pm, UAE v Jersey, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 24 – 10am, UAE v Nigeria, Abu Dhabi Cricket Oval 1
October 27 – 7.30pm, UAE v Canada, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
October 29 – 2.10pm, Playoff 1 – A2 v B3; 7.30pm, Playoff 2 – A3 v B2, at Dubai International Stadium.
October 30 – 2.10pm, Playoff 3 – A4 v Loser of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Playoff 4 – B4 v Loser of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 1 – 2.10pm, Semifinal 1 – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Semifinal 2 – A1 v Winner of Play-off 2 at Dubai International Stadium
November 2 – 2.10pm, Third place Playoff – B1 v Winner of Play-off 1; 7.30pm, Final, at Dubai International Stadium
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
THE SPECS
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How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Mobile phone packages comparison
