“From beyond the rivers of Cush My worshipers, My scattered people, will bring Me offerings.” Zephaniah 3:10
 
To see the Missions to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan film Online, click here
​

Learn More of this Incredible Country
For the background to this colossal conflict, see Sudan in Crisis at a Crossroads.
To understand the incredible courage and resilience of the Nuba Christians, see the film: Missions to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan (also available in German and French).
To understand Sudan’s history, read Faith Under Fire in Sudan.
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
mission@frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org

See also:
An Overview of Sudan in History
Why Did Christianity Die Out in Northern Sudan?
Sudan’s Former Dictator Omar Al-Bashir Goes on Trial
Promising Prospects of Peace in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan
​

Wanted by the ICC for Genocide
Sudan has also pledged to hand over Bashir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to face trial on war crimes and genocide charges related to the Darfur conflict, which left 300,000 people dead and millions displaced in a scorched earth campaign.
 
Historic Trial
It is the first time in the modern history of the Arab world that the architect of a coup goes on trial, although the man dubbed the true brain behind the military overthrow, Hassan Al-Turabi of the National Islamic Front, died in 2016.
 
Co-Conspirators Charged
Bashir will be in the dock with 10 military personnel and six civilians, including his former vice presidents Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former ministers and governors. They are all accused of having plotted the 30 June 1989 coup when the army arrested Sudan's political leaders, suspended parliament and other state bodies, closed the airport and announced the putsch on the radio.
 
Three Decades of Dictatorship
Bashir, who later elevated himself to the rank of general, stayed in power for 30 years before being overthrown on 11 April 2019 after several months of unprecedented, youth-led street demonstrations.
 
Justice Demands a Day of Reckoning
Hadra reported that Bashir and Saleh "have totally refused to cooperate with the commission of enquiry, but they will be present at the court". The lawyer said the accused are charged under crimes including Chapter 96 of the 1983 Penal Code, which had been abolished by Bashir, and which carries the death penalty for attempting to destroy the constitutional order. Hadra said that "this is the first time someone who launches a coup will be brought to justice" in Sudan, which has seen three coups d'etat since its 1956 independence from Britain.
 
The Defence Strategy
One of the 150 defence lawyers, Hashem al-Gali, charged that Bashir and the others would face "a political trial" being held "in a hostile environment on the part of the judicial system against the defendants". "In fact, this trial is aimed at the Islamic movement and its sole purpose is to present it as a terrorist movement, but we have prepared our defence and we will prove the contrary," Gali stressed. He argued Bashir's overthrow of Mahdi took place so long ago that it was beyond the statute of limitations and should therefore no longer be dealt with by a court.
 
Justice Delayed
Former police general Salah Mattar, who was head of Internal Security in 1989, welcomed the trial, recounting how he had anticipated the overthrow. "I had observed movements and meetings of the National Islamic Front six months before the coup and made a report to Interior Minister Mubarak al-Mahdi, but he ignored it," Mattar recounted. "After the coup I was chased out with six high-ranking police officers."
 
Attempts at Reform
The trial takes place at a time when Sudan's joint civilian-military transitional government is introducing a host of reforms and has relaunched peace talks with rebel groups. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's administration has recently abolished rules restricting women's movements, outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation, scrapped a law against apostasy and relaxed a ban on alcohol.
 
Hopes for Foreign Trade and Investment
Khartoum hopes to soon be taken off the US State Department's list of countries that sponsor terrorism, a significant hurdle to receiving foreign aid and investment. So far there is no talk of Bashir’s atrocities against the Christian South and the Nuba Mountains.
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
mission@frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org
www.ReformationSA.org
www.HMSSchoolofChristianJournalism.org

See also:
Sudan in Crisis at a Crossroads
Faith Under Fire in Sudan
​

Discussing Self-Determination
The transition government of Sudan and the Resistance movements have agreed to establish informal negotiation workshops to resolve contentious issues, such as the right to self-determination of all citizens.
 
Confronting Root Causes of the Conflict
The Declaration came four days after the transitional government agreed to a deal in Juba, South Sudan, with a coalition of Resistance forces raising hopes that the long running wars in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan may be coming to an end. Hamdok and al-Hilu declared that they believe it is necessary to achieve a comprehensive and just political solution to all of Sudan’s conflicts, one that addresses “the root causes of the crisis” which have devastated the country for many decades.
 
Backlash Opposition Anticipated
Mohammed Ali Fazari, editor in chief of the English newspaper, Khartoum Today, warned that pro-Islamicist political parties will inevitably criticise the transitional government for agreeing to discuss the relationship between Islamic Sharia law and the state and the right to self-determination for the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan and the Blue Nile regions where the SPLM-North has been fighting for secession for years. “This is a very controversial point within six principles of the declaration. I think this point is going to complicate the situation with the Islamicists, who will refuse this and also other parties in the forces of freedom and change in government.”
 
Pray for Sudan
Please continue to pray for the Christians in Sudan and for our ongoing mission projects in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan. “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have Faith.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
 
For the background to this colossal conflict, see: Sudan in Crisis at a Crossroads.
 
To understand the position of the Nuba Christians, an island of Christianity in a sea of Islam, see the film: Missions to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan (also available in German and French).
 
To understand Sudan’s history, read Faith Under Fire in Sudan.
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
mission@frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org

See also:
An Overview of History in Sudan
Why Did Christianity Die Out in Northern Sudan?
​

At Nuri, about 350 km North of Khartoum, tombs buried 7 to 10 meters underneath pyramids have been affected by a dramatic rise in ground water.
 
The Nuri pyramids include the tomb of Taharqua, who ruled over lands in modern-day Sudan and Egypt, in the 7th century B.C. These invaluable historic relics are at risk in this unprecedented flooding.
 
Floods in Sudan have left over a hundred people dead and many tens of thousands of homes destroyed, or damaged.
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
mission@frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org

To understand the history of Sudan, obtain, Faith Under Fire in Sudan (320 pages, 200 pictures) also available as an E-book.
 
See also:
An Overview of History in Sudan
Why Did Christianity Die Out in Northern Sudan?
​

Please click here to see this News article, with pictures, on the www.FrontlineMissionSA.org website.
 
Courageous Co-worker
Born in 1948, Rev. Jeffreys Kayanga, one of my most trusted friends and co-workers in Sudan, passed away after a short illness on 28 June 2020. Jeffreys Kayanga and I walked many hundreds of kilometres together in the war zones of Sudan. Together, Jeffreys and I conducted hundreds of services, outreaches and lectures in remote villages and towns throughout Western Equatoria, amongst the Moru, Zande, Bari, Dinka and Nuer people. We conducted leadership training programs for pastors, chaplains, teachers, evangelists, youth workers and medics. He was my translator on many hundreds of occasions. Jeffreys was a capable organiser and gifted negotiator resolving many complications and avoiding conflicts amongst different tribes and officials. When we brought Samaritan's Purse in to renovate the hospital in Lui, he became the coordinator between SP, the local church and government officials.

Under Fire in Sudan
On numerous occasions we had to dive for cover when under fire from aerial and artillery bombardment and when under rocket attack. Jeffreys Kayanga was one of my most trusted friends and co-workers in Sudan. Along with Bishop Bullen Dolli and Canon Kenneth Baringwa, Jeffreys was one of my three main co-workers in Sudan. Jeffreys was the person I worked with more than any other. He and I enjoyed many great outreaches, services, projects and adventures for the Kingdom of God. South Sudan has lost one of its most stalwart heroes who played a vital role in working for the independence and freedom of their nation. His work and witness will continue to bear fruit for all eternity. Jeffreys Kayanga can now declare: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Pray for the Kayanga Family
Please remember in prayer, Rev. Jeffreys Kayanga’s wife, Vaida Odra’ba Ezikia and their children: Silivia Afiya Jeffreys; John Fakiri Jeffreys; Charity Arufa Jeffreys; Faith Dodocia Jeffreys and Jonathan Ingila Jeffreys.
 
In Sure and Certain Hope of the Resurrection
We praise God that our Lord Jesus Christ is “…the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live…” John 11:25-26
 
Please see the video that we have produced to honour our brother Rev. Jeffreys Kayanga, here.
 
You can also view an interview with Rev. Jeffreys Kayanga, filmed just after South Sudan won her independence, 2011, click here.
 
Rev. Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Website: www.FrontlineMissionSA.org

To listen to a video which includes Jefferys explaining about the bombing
of the Lui Cathedral on Christmas 2000 Click HERE

Marketplace Ministry
I was blessed to witness a hunger for spiritual truth when I was in a predominately Muslim village. After a full day of traveling, we still had some daylight and decided to evangelise in a local marketplace. The first group of people we witnessed to was a crowd of young boys, playing just outside the market. They were wearing tattered shorts, no shoes and covered in dust from head to hip, with mud covering their legs and feet. As I approached, I noticed they were gathered around a wooden pole sticking out of the ground with a string attached to the top of the pole and a ball at the bottom end of the string. They were kicking the ball around from one person to another while they stood around the pole with the swinging ball. As I approached, the group of boys started buzzing with giggles, pointing at the “Kawaja” (white man). After introducing myself, I shared the story of Abraham. The adults sitting at a nearby well were all laughing while paying close attention to the activities in front of them. Everyone was carefully listening to the Gospel message in the story of Abraham. The people of this Muslim area were open, friendly and ready to listen to the Bible.
​
After I shared with the group of boys, we moved to the marketplace. I walked into the market, past a few vendors and I was immediately hit with the sight of about 50 grass thatch structures no higher than my head, all standing on reddish brown sand. The structures, which act as shops and restaurants, stand uneven and wobbly on the ground, almost like they got their design structure from the legs of a giraffe. There was a constant sound of chatting, shouting, goats bleating, cows mooing and motorbikes revving their engines. In the middle of the market, what seemed like high wooden benches made out of sticks, were stands for women selling tomatoes. There was a strong smell of roasting coffee and boiling ginger and spices for tea.

​Open-air Preaching
I walked up to a man who seemed to be in the military because of his automatic rifle and I greeted him. We shook hands. I looked to my left and observed three soldiers in military browns, with scuffed up rifles slung over their shoulders. They were looking at me with friendly smiles on their faces. I said I was a Christian and I had come to share the Gospel. They cheerfully told me that they were Christians too. I asked them if they thought it would be good for me to share a story with the people in the market. They told me to feel free. So I did. Confident that I just obtained military sanction to preach in the open-air, I walked to an empty area on the brown sand, covered by tree shade. In my loudest voice, I started greeting people on opposite ends of the market. People instantly responded by smiling, waving, laughing and walking closer to me. With my loudest effort, I began telling them the story of Zacchaeus while acting it out.

Pray Strategically
Please will you pray for the Church in Sudan. Many people are suffering for their Faith. Ask God to empower His people to be salt and light in the face of warfare, poverty and false religion. Pray for the Church in countries where there are Sudanese refugees. Ask the Lord to motivate His people to reach out to Sudanese men and women who would have no other opportunity to hear the Gospel. Pray for schoolteachers in Sudan to believe in Jesus Christ and raise the next generation of Sudanese people to love and fear God. Pray for God to open up more opportunities for missionaries to access Sudan and minister the Word and Christ’s love to our suffering brothers and sisters. Pray for all the unbelievers in Sudan who have heard the Gospel. Ask the Holy Spirit to do His wonderful work in drawing sinners to Christ!
 
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” Ephesians 3:20-21
 
Rev. John Clifford
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021 689 4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Website: www.frontlinemissionsa.org

See also:
Caring for Leaders in Sudan
Children in the War Zone
Bibles and Books to Sudan with Love
Bibles for the Nuba Mountains
Mission to the Nuba Mountains
Bibles Bless the Nuba Mountains
An Overview of Sudan in History

​Muslims Welcome the Gospel
In order to operate in the districts where my team intended on distributing Bibles, we needed to obtain permission from district commissioners and heads of education. The leaders of all the communities and districts we went to were overjoyed at the idea of their children receiving English books, especially Bibles. Even the Muslim leaders gladly welcomed our mission and invited us to minister to their people.
 
Restricted Access Areas
I was reminded of the impeccable timing of this mission. The war zones of Sudan are closed to outside help. Any relief-aid in the Nuba Mountains is considered illegal. Yet, the people are desperate for help. Many desire the relief support of NGOs. The apparent danger is that the relief-aid from many NGOs, particularly education, comes with a secular humanist worldview. Hopefully, the Bibles and books we delivered to them will help combat the secular worldview pushed by most relief-aid agencies.
 
Schools in the Nuba Mountains
Our ministry to schools began as soon as we obtained the necessary permission. There are basically two kinds of schools in the Nuba Mountains: those built on the mountainside and those built in the villages – sometimes by missionaries from the past. The ones on the mountainsides are usually small rickety structures made up of grass thatch. The ones in the villages are old stone buildings, usually rundown, bombed out and somewhat ghostly.

​“For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in Him but also suffer for His sake” Philippians 1:29
 
The Church of Christ is expanding in Sudan. Leaders are coming to salvation and developing a Biblical worldview. Apart from distributing another 40,000 Bibles to schools, churches and chaplains, we held conferences for training pastors, chaplains and teachers who are facing persecution and suffering in the Nuba Mountains.
 
Leadership Training
We conducted a leadership seminar for 100 pastors and chaplains which ran for three days. On the first day, we targeted the heart, emphasizing the need for personal repentance, holiness and Gospel-centeredness. The second day, we dealt with more practical issues like preaching, church-planting, goal setting and strategizing, God and government and humanism. The final day we helped them cast vision for the future and presented them with Bibles and books to help further their efforts in God’s Kingdom.

The pastors and chaplains had many questions and responses to the presentations. It seemed many were concerned with inaccurate and dangerous preaching in local churches. One pastor said, “I want you to go deeply into this issue… people are preaching nonsense.” There was also some level of confusion about salvation. Many of the pastors and chaplains theorized that salvation was basically just confessing sin and that salvation can be lost - every time the believer sins. At this point in the conference, we had to slow down and talk about God’s gracious gifts presented to those who are in Christ and the power of God in forgiving and transforming sinners. Others had never considered the different spheres of government in the Bible (self, family, church, civil). They were eager to observe how they may be mixing and confusing these different areas of government. ​

A chaplain, who ministers on the frontlines, told me about the pain of warfare. He often walks for days to minister to one group of soldiers to another. Sometimes he has to cross enemy territory and fight his way through, fearing for his life. He grew in intensity as he told me that the international community has done nothing to help his people. Khartoum has killed and destroyed his people, yet there is no justice. He finally asked me, “Does God love us? Have we sinned against Him? Why do we suffer so much?” As we were talking, Daniel began with his lecture from Hebrews 4, explaining that Christ identifies with our suffering. I encouraged the chaplain to go and listen to the presentation. He eagerly went inside to find answers to his questions.
 
“Looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfector of our Faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame and is seated at the right Hand of the Throne of God” Hebrews 12:2
​
Training Teachers
After the pastor’s conference, we held a teachers’ training conference for about 60 teachers from 3 different counties. Among them, we had Muslim teachers in attendance. The first presentation, on the first day, was on the heart of the problem. We discussed why children are naughty. Then we discussed why we behave badly. We looked at the Biblical teaching on man’s depravity. The heart of man’s problem is our wicked hearts, our filthy pasts and our destructive sinful lives. We discovered that in Christ, we receive a new heart, a new righteousness and a new holiness. At the end of the presentation, one teacher stood up and said “I am ignorant about God. I need you to teach me. Please teach me now.” By God’s grace, we did teach him and the other teachers more about God throughout the conference.

​To view the PDF of this Article CLICK HERE
To listen to a Podcast related to this article Click Here

Power Sharing Agreement Signed by Military Council and Civilian Opposition Alliance
On 17 August, it was reported that General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagolo and Lt. General Abdal Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan for the Military Council and Ahmed Al-Rabie for the Alliance for Freedom and Change signed an agreement to usher in a new governing council to include both civilians and military generals to pave the way towards elections and civilian rule within 3 years.
 
War Criminal Pledges to Honour Agreement
General Hemeti Dagolo, considered the dominant figure in the Military Council, pledged in an interview to the BBC: “We will stick to every single letter we have agreed on. Even without the agreement, we have to work in this direction because it is in the country’s interest. Therefore we have to carry out the agreement, stick to it and support it.” Hemeti is the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militia, which was accused of carrying out genocide in the Darfur region of Western Sudan.

Tarnishing the Reputation of Murderers
The RSF have been blamed for the violent repression of protests, including the 3 June 2019 massacre, which reportedly killed more than 120 people, many of whom were dumped in the Nile River. In the BBC interview, Hemeti described that there had been “a systematic plotting and conspiracy” to “tarnish the reputation” of the RSF, which he described as “protectors - not killers”.
 
Revolutions, Coup d’Etats and War
Sudan has been afflicted by a series of 7 revolutions and coup d'états and a series of wars since the British handed over their protectorate, 1 January 1956 and granted its independence.
 
Uprising Paralyses Khartoum
The present crisis can be traced back to December 2018, when Dictator Omar Al Bashir’s regime imposed emergency austerity measures cutting bread and fuel subsidies. This sparked demonstrations which brought the capital city of Khartoum to a standstill.

War Crimes and Genocide
Omar Al Bashir came to power in 1989 as a brigadier in the Sudanese Army when he led a military coup that ousted the government of prime minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi. In March 2009, Al Bashir was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes including “mass killing, rape and pillage” against civilians in Darfur. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court accused Al Bashir of “genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes”. On 12 July 2010, the court issued a second warrant containing 3 separate accounts of genocide. ​

Ignoring Genocide and War Crimes – Focusing on Corruption
Although the Military Council reports that they have removed Omar Al Bashir from office because of allegations of corruption, there is no talk of handing him over to the ICC to face trial for genocide and war crimes. Despite his pledge to end the decades long civil war that had been afflicting the country when he took power in 1989, Bashir prolonged and intensified the war. The ICC Chief Prosecutor, Louis Marena–Ocampo, reported that US$9 Billion of ill-gotten gains had been “stashed in London banks” by Al Bashir. As there is no talk of handing Al Bashir over to the ICC, nor of indicting him for the genocide perpetrated against Christians in South Sudan and the Nuba Mountains, many question whether Al Bashir has genuinely been ousted from power, or whether he is being protected by the Transitional Military Council.
 
Overthrow of Bashir
In April, after unprecedented large demonstrations, the dictator Omar Al Bashir, who had been ruling for 30 years, was reportedly overthrown by the military. The council of generals led by Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Abdel Rahman Burhan assumed power.
 
Forces of Freedom and Change
However the demonstrators stayed put outside the military headquarters, insisting that it transfer authority to a civilian administration. Various protest groups came together under the umbrella Forces of Freedom and Change. Tens-of-thousands of protestors took to the streets to force the Junta to have talks on a power sharing arrangement. 

Who and What are the Rapid Support Forces?
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been identified as the real ruling power in Sudan. They represent a new kind of regime – a hybrid of ethnic militia and criminal business enterprise, a transnational mercenary force that has captured a state. The RSF was formally established by decree by Omar Al Bashir in 2013. Although their core of 5,000 militiamen had been armed and active long before that time. Dictator Al Bashir mobilised the Janjaweed to fight against Black African Muslim insurgents in Darfur in 2003. The Janjaweed were soon formalised by Al Bashir into a paramilitary force called the Border Intelligence Units. The brigade active in South Darfur was under Mohamed Dagolo, known as Hemeti, because of his baby-faced looks – Hemeti, being a mother’s endearing term for little Mohamed. This force mutinied when the government failed to pay them. Hemeti recruited volunteers from Darfur’s Black African Fur ethnic group into his army to fight alongside his Arabs, their former enemies. Although Hemeti’s commanders are all from his Mahariya Arabic clan, he has been quick to enlist men from all ethnic groups, even absorbing a breakaway Darfur faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Army (SLA). The RSFs strength has grown in recent years tenfold, but its command structure has remained Darfuran Arabs. All of its generals share the Dagolo name. With reportedly 70,000 men and more than 10,000 armed land cruisers, pickup trucks, the RSF is Sudan’s De facte military, capable of controlling the streets, borders and the capital.
 
Transnational Mercenary Proxy Force
Hemeti negotiated a deal with Al Bashir’s government whereby he became a Brigadier General and received massive cash payment in exchange for placing his troops under the command of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) who had at that time were organising a proxy war with Chad. Some of Hemeti’s fighters then served under the banner of the Chad opposition even taking its capital N’Djamena in 2008.

​Mutinous Mercenaries Became Bashir’s Private Army
While the army Chief of Staff did not like this hiring of a mutinous mercenary, preferring the money to go to strengthen their regular forces, Omar Al Bashir found the RSF useful, purchased their loyalty and made them answerable to Bashir himself, who gave Hemeti the nickname Himayti – meaning “my protector.”
 
Effective Jihadists in Darfur – Defeated in the Nuba Mountains
Hundreds of land cruiser pickup trucks were imported and fitted out with machine guns for Hemeti’s RSF. While the RSF did well against the Black Muslim rebels in Darfur, they were decisively defeated by the Christian Nuba in South Kordofan.
 
Gold Rush in Darfur
When gold was discovered in Jabul Amir in North Darfur in 2012, just as Sudan was facing economic crisis, the gold seemed like a blessing, but it quickly developed into a curse. Tens-of-thousands of Arabs flocked to the remote corner of Darfur in a gold rush where many were crushed in collapsing shafts, or poisoned by the mercury and arsenic used to process the gold nuggets. Some gold was sold to the government which paid above market prices, as it was so desperate to get its hands on gold, which it could sell in Dubai for hard currency. 

Smuggling and Slavery
However, other gold was smuggled across the border to Chad, where it was profitably exchanged in a racket involving buying stolen vehicles and smuggling them back into Sudan. In Chad, a 1.5kg bar of gold could be bartered for land cruisers, which were probably stolen from aid agencies and then driven back to Darfur, to be fitted out. The RSF are policing Sudan’s borders, extracting bribes, levies and ransoms and engaging in human trafficking/slavery.
 
Mercenaries for Hire
Dubai is the destination for most of Sudan’s gold, official or smuggled. Hemeti’s contacts with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are extensive. Under a 2015 agreement, the Sudanese government sends units of its army to serve with the Saudi Arabian/Emirate Coalition Forces in Yemen. The UAE has struck a parallel deal with Hemeti to send a much larger force of RSF fighters to combat in South Yemen. Hemeti also provides units to guard the Saudi Arabian border with Yemen. Sudan has 16,000 troops securing the Saudi Arabian – Yemen border.
 
Political, Military and Economic Power Broker
Therefore, using gold and mercenary activity, Hemeti controls Sudan’s largest political budget without the need to give any account. The Al-Junaid company run by his relatives have become a vast conglomerate covering investment, mining, transport, car rental and iron and steel amongst others. Hemeti is now one of the richest men in Sudan with more ready cash than any other politician. He is at the centre of a web of patronage, secret security deals and political pay-offs. Every week, Hemeti is in the news, handing out cash to police, electric workers, teachers and gifting cars to tribal chiefs. 

Darfur, Libya, Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains
As the UN-African Union Peace Keeping Force were going to downscale in Darfur, the RSF just took over their camps. Hemeti also dispatched a brigade to Libya to fight alongside the rogue general Khalifa Haftar. Human Rights Watch accuses Hemeti Dagolo of responsibility for torture, extra judicial killings and mass rapes by his forces in Darfur, Southern Blue Nile and South Kordofan/the Nuba Mountains.
 
Criminal Entrepreneur Hires Canadian Public Relations Firm to Improve His Image
Like the mercenary free booters of the 19th century, who publically swore allegiance to the Kedive of Egypt, but set up and ruled their own private empires, Hemeti is a military – political entrepreneur, whose paramilitary criminal business empire transcends boundaries. He has been described as the most powerful individual in Sudan today. To improve his image internationally, Hemeti has enlisted the services of a Canadian public relations firm.
 
Regional Power Play Pits Two Forms of Totalitarianism Against One Another
While Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are supporting Sudan’s military, Turkey and Qatar are more closely aligned with the Sudanese Islamists. So it would appear that what is going on in Sudan is not some kind of popular uprising of civilians, as much as a regional power play backing two versions of totalitarianism. Neither side would appear to be at all interested in freedom and justice.
 
International Intrigues
Opposition leaders in Sudan warn that their military rulers are being exploited by foreign powers, eager to take advantage of the country’s natural resources and strategic location. The United Arab Emirates is Sudan’s main destination for exports, buying most of the country’s gold. China imports significant amounts of Sudan’s oil. Saudi Arabia buys most of Sudan’s livestock. Turkey and Qatar have signed a deal last year for US$4 Billion to support Sudan in developing of the Port of Suakin, South of Port Sudan. This highly strategic move could allow Turkey to establish a military presence on the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia and UAE are trying to put pressure on Sudan to cancel the deal. Since 2015, Sudan’s foreign policy has shifted away from its previous close ties with Iran towards Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Understand the Historic Context of the Current Crisis
To understand Sudan’s history, read Faith Under Fire in Sudan and obtain the Sudan: The Hidden Holocaust and Terrorism and Persecution – Understanding Islamic Jihad films from Christian Liberty Books, PO Box 358, Howard Place 7450, Cape Town, South Africa, Tel: 021-689-7478, Fax: 086-551-7490, Email: admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za and Website: www.christianlibertybooks.co.za.
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Website: www.FrontlineMissionSA.org