Khartoum – The Governor of Darfur region (western Sudan), Minni Arko Minawi, described the humanitarian situation in El Fasher, the regional capital, as unprecedentedly catastrophic, stressing that the suffering there exceeds that of other areas. He warned of a renewed old Western plan to divide Sudan into small states.

During a meeting on the situation in Darfur held yesterday Tuesday in Cairo with political figures from Darfur, former officials, and civil society leaders, Minawi called for supporting popular will and working to solve the country’s problems.

He pointed out that El Fasher is suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis that worsens daily due to ongoing fighting and obstruction of relief efforts.

Minawi explained that the Rapid Support Forces deliberately obstructed humanitarian aid from reaching El Fasher, stopping more than 20 convoys belonging to the United Nations and international organizations that had departed from Al Dabba city in northern Sudan, forcing them to halt in the Milit area in North Darfur.

He also revealed that these forces burned more than 10 relief convoys, considering these acts crimes against humanity as they directly target civilians and deprive them of their right to essential aid.

He indicated that about one million citizens inside El Fasher need urgent humanitarian interventions, noting that emptying the city of its residents—as the Rapid Support Forces and their allies seek—means exposing them to death at the hands of these forces, as happened to many who left the city.

Minawi called on the UN Security Council to urgently intervene to open humanitarian corridors and ensure the protection of civilians in the region, warning that laxity in confronting these violations could worsen the catastrophe. He also demanded the development of the National Committee to Break the Siege of El Fasher, headed by businessman Azahri Al-Mubarak, to achieve the desired goal.

Minawi condemned calls for secession, stressing that unity is in the hands of all Sudanese. He addressed human rights violations in Darfur, especially in El Fasher, Nyala, and Zalingei, which have turned into ghost towns amid silence from the international community and the United Nations regarding the crimes of the rebel militia, according to his expression.

He viewed the practices of the “Rebel Rapid Support Militia” as reflecting a dangerous plan targeting the separation of Darfur from Sudan and the fragmentation of the country’s unity for the benefit of international parties that profit from ongoing chaos and conflict. He reiterated his rejection of the militia’s claim to form a “parallel government” in Nyala.

He pointed to what he described as an old Western plan aiming to divide Sudan into five countries, considering the current events in Darfur an extension of this project, which exploits internal conflicts to achieve geopolitical goals at the expense of the country’s unity and stability. Among these signs is an external intention to divide the country into three states.

Minawi said, “I received a call from an ambassador of a great power asking me about my position on forming a government while the war was at its worst.”

He added, “The ambassador asked me about the possibility of forming three governments.”

Minawi commented that “such an inquiry is certainly not a joke.”

He downplayed some who try to label them as aligned with Islamists “and those called remnants,” saying, “This Islamist issue is political nonsense.”

Minawi spoke about steps that could put the country on the right path through politicians for the benefit of the Sudanese people by achieving some national consensus on the country’s issues.

He expressed pride in the country’s celebrations marking 71 years of Sudanization of the Sudanese army and 100 years since its founding, considering it a national occasion, stressing that there is no alternative to the Sudanese army, which defends the homeland.

Minawi also spoke about the Rapid Support Forces’ plan to seize power in April 2023, saying he witnessed large movements of those forces about a month before the war broke out, chanting the slogan “All power to Khartoum inside.”

He added, “There was a plan to carry out a coup during Ramadan coinciding with Eid al-Fitr prayers, for the coup plotters to carry out beatings and arrest political and military leaders.”