KHARTOUM – Sudan’s Revolutionary Awakening Council, led by tribal leader Musa Hilal, has called on members of the Mahamid tribe inside and outside Sudan to distance themselves from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), withdraw from the fighting and reject what it described as projects that threaten Sudan’s unity and social fabric.
In a public statement, Hilal urged Mahamid members fighting alongside the RSF to leave the battlefield and return to their communities, stressing that those who chose to participate in the conflict bear individual responsibility for their actions and do not represent the tribe as a whole.
The statement also appealed to Mahamid members from neighboring countries whom it said had been recruited to fight in Sudan to leave the country and return home. It further called on tribal leaders across Darfur and Kordofan, particularly Arab tribal leaders, to withdraw their support for the RSF and reject ongoing mobilization campaigns.
The Mahamid are one of the largest Arab tribes in Darfur and have long played a significant role in the region’s tribal and security dynamics. Musa Hilal, one of the tribe’s most prominent leaders, has been engaged in a longstanding rivalry with RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) over influence in Darfur since the rise of the RSF.
Hilal was arrested by Sudanese authorities in 2017 following escalating tensions in Darfur and remained in detention until his release after the political changes that followed the 2019 uprising. Since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, he has repeatedly voiced support for Sudan’s state institutions while criticizing the RSF leadership.
The appeal comes as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF continues across Darfur, Kordofan and other parts of Sudan, with both sides seeking to consolidate alliances among tribal, political and armed groups amid ongoing military operations.
