A statement issued by the Supreme Revolutionary Leadership of the Awakening Council stated that, based on the Council’s constitution for the year 2014, as amended in 2020, and after consultation with the executive and military leaders, internal and external offices, and membership, in a process characterized by institutionalism, democracy, and “Shura”, the Supreme Leadership met in the period of February 19-22 this year, and Ali Majok was elected as the chairperson of the Awakening Council. Mahmoud Sheikh Adam Jaber was also elected as Vice-Chairman, Ahmed Abkar as the official spokesman for the Council, Elariefi Hamad Al-Sayed Baouda as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, and Ahmed Idris Issa Bishara as Chief of Staff, in addition to the election of Mahdi Abdullah Hamed as head of organization and administration.

The Revolutionary Awakening Council was founded on January 2, 2014 under the leadership of the tribal leader of the Mahamid clan (one of the clans of the Rizeigat tribe), Sheikh (Musa Hilal). Hilal previously served as a presidential advisor on federalism to Bashir’s government and was a member of Parliament but he left Khartoum after disagreements with the National Congress Party’s leaders He took sanctuary in his village in North Darfur’s: “Mustariha”, where he announced the formation of the Revolutionary Awakening Council.

Hilal, who was born in 1961 in the city of Kutum, North Darfur, rose to become the leader of the Janjaweed militia, comprised of Arab tribes that have fought on the Bashir government’s side since the beginning of the Darfur conflict in 2003. It then grew into the Border Guard forces that joined the Sudanese army, but ultimately opted to remain loyal to its leader (Hilal) and transformed to the Revolutionary Awakening Council’s forces. Resolution 1591 of the Security Council imposes international sanctions on Musa Hilal in relation to the violence in Darfur.
Bashir’s government launched ceaseless, intermittently successful attempts to repatriate Hilal to Khartoum, but ultimately failed. Bashir’s government attempted to merge Hilal’s forces with the Rapid Support Forces under the leadership of Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). Hilal’s unwillingness to respond to the Weapons collection campaign and his refusal to join the Rapid Support Forces exacerbated the dispute. The conflict escalated when Hilal’s soldiers ambushed a commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Brigadier General Abd al-Rahim Juma, killing him and 13 of his companions. In response, RSF stormed Musa Hilal’s stronghold in Mustariha, arrested him and his associates, and returned them to Khartoum in 2018. Hilal remained detained until the Transitional Sovereignty Council granted him amnesty in March 2021, resulting in his release.

The Revolutionary Awakening Council has recently experienced numerous splits, resulting in the formation of several separate organizations, including the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council led by Musa Hilal, the Democratic Revolutionary Awakening Council, the Revolutionary Awakening Council for Correction and Change, the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council – Collective Leadership, the National Revolutionary Awakening Council, and the most recent split in February, which saw the defection of the most prominent leaders and founders of the Council along with their military forces. According to dissidents of the Awakening Council, they left the formation led by Hilal in protest of the council’s transformation from an active, national, military, political, and influential organization in the general national affairs into a private company serving specific tribal interests and pursuing the personal ambitions of a few individuals.

Dissident sections of the Revolutionary Awakening Council, led by tribal leader Musa Hilal, stated in this context that they had achieved an agreement to form a fusion unit. The Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council (Collective Leadership) and dissidents from the Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council (Hilal’s leadership) announced their merger into a unified entity under one name (the Revolutionary Awakening Council – the original), and Majok was elected as its leader. A statement made by the new body vowed to stick to the objectives of the revolution and to continue the fight for a comprehensive, just, and merited peace.

The number of coup casualties has reached 125, with a new martyr in the February 28 march.

Police forces murdered the martyr Ibrahim Majzoub (19 years old) during the protests organized by the Resistance Committees on February 28 in protest to the continuation of the coup on October 25, 2021. Domestic and international actors protested the act of employing disproportionate force against peaceful protesters.
In a subsequent statement, the Ministry of the Interior announced that “prompt legal action will be taken” in response to the video showing a police officer shooting at demonstrators. The Public Prosecution declared on February 29, 2023, that the police had lifted the immunity of the officer accused of murdering the martyr Ibrahim, paving the way for investigation and trial.
In the same context, the Organization of Families of the Martyrs of the December 2018 Revolution demanded that the Sudanese government dismiss the Minister of the Interior and the Attorney General and hold them accountable for targeting peaceful protesters. The organization’s chairman, Abbas Farah Abbas, stated in a press conference, “We hold the Minister of the Interior and the Attorney General fully responsible for the killing of revolutionaries in the streets, and they must be removed from their positions and held accountable immediately. Now, the governing authorities have 72 hours to react to our demand.”
According to the official records of the doctors, the number of martyrs who died as a result of the excessive violence with which the coup authorities confronted the peaceful marches since October 25, 2021 has reached 125.

Sudanese anti-coup activist arrested and detained in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi authorities in Dammam arrested the Sudanese activist Hisham Abbas on January 24, 2023, after the Sudanese embassy in Saudi Arabia filed a complaint against him for social media remarks criticizing the October 25 coup.
Hisham’s family revealed that an employee of the Sudanese embassy in Saudi Arabia had filed a complaint against him, accusing him of inciting Sudanese public opinion by his publications and anti-coup stances. The family reported that a summons request for Hisham’s for interrogation about the communication had been received, and he was thereafter detained.

After a month of detention pending the case, Hisham was sentenced by the Saudi judiciary to six months in prison and after which he will be deported to Sudan, according to sources involved in the matter’s follow-up.

Notably, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a member of the Quad group consisting of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates, which is leading mediation efforts to end the political crisis caused by the October 25, 2021 coup. The same coup which was criticized by the activist sentenced to prison by the Saudi authorities.

The heated exchange between the Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces is escalating

Yasser al-Atta, a member of the Sovereignty Council, joined army leaders in pushing for the integration of the Rapid Support Forces into the armed forces on February 25, 2023, stating that the prospect of a parallel army would lead to the collapse of Sudan.
Previously, the head of the Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, stated on 16 February 2023 that the army’s support for the Framework Agreement concluded with the pro-democracy civil forces stems from the Framework Agreement’s inclusion of provisions guaranteeing the integration of “RSF” and the rest of the armed movements into the Sudanese army.

Media allegations have surfaced in recent days indicating the development of the quarrel between Al-Burhan and Hemidti, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, particularly regarding the expansion of influence on the western frontiers.

Yasser Al-Atta stated, while speaking at a wedding celebration in the Nile State, that “the Rapid Support Forces must be integrated into the blessed womb from which it was previously conceived – referring to the army – and that there is no modern, respectable democratic state in which there are two armies, and to establish a modern state, there must be one independent, National, and strong army that is subject to the authority of the political democratic state.” He also emphasized the necessity of integrating the forces of the armed movements into the army in compliance with the Juba Peace Agreement’s security provisions. He highlighted that the threat and pursuit of political, personal, and economic benefit by possessing a parallel army could result in the collapse of the Sudanese state, emphasizing the capabilities of the armed forces to ensure security and control any irresponsible and reckless activities.

Shams al-Din Kabbashi, another member of the Sovereignty Council, stated on 6 February 2023, “The ultimate solution to the country’s security problem is to build a single army by integrating the Rapid Support Forces into the armed forces and enacting security measures.”

In response to these statements, Hemidti said in a public speech that they are committed to integrating into the army according to timetables, after he had rejected this move earlier, saying that the Rapid Support Forces are part of the armed forces and that he does not know what is meant when talking about merging it.

Abd al-Rahim Daglo, the second commander of the Rapid Support Forces, urged that the military commanders hand over authority to the people on March 4, 2023, and stated that they would no longer permit the death of demonstrators and the detention of politicians. Abd al-Rahim, who is the older brother of the commander of the Rapid Support Forces and the deputy head of the Sovereignty Council (Hemedti), has made statements that reflect the widening gap between the leaders of the army and the Rapid Support Forces, despite the efforts of both parties to deny it.

The release of ousted government leader Kamal Abdel Latif, who is charged of “terrorism,” from prison.

The court discharged Kamal Abdel Latif, one of the defendants in the case of establishing criminal and terrorist organizations and inciting war against the state, which is popularly known as the ” Popular Security Cell” case.
The decision to release Abdel-Latif came shortly after another court acquitted him of corruption in the case of selling the Sudan Airways’ landing and take-off times at Heathrow International Airport.
The Sudan News Agency, SUNA, said that the Court of the Case, before which 27 military and civilian suspects appear, decided to release Abdel Latif on bail.
Abdul Latif held a number of positions in the government of ousted President Omar al-Bashir, including Minister of the Presidency and Minister of Mining. The official agency noted that the investigation committee in the case had already decided to release accused No. 18 Abdul Latif during the investigation phase and trial. It was alleged that, after being cleared of the charge of selling the Heathrow line, the former official requested the jail administration to free him, but they refused, stating they lacked evidence that he was on the run in the terrorist cell case. Court stated that after reviewing the case file, it determined that the defendant, Abdel Latif, had been released during the investigation phase, and therefore released him on bail.

The Popular Security Cell case was based on the Rapid Support Forces announcement in May 2019 that they had confiscated substantial numbers of guns, ammunition, digital explosives, and explosive belts from a house in the Taif area, east of the capital Khartoum. This area is in close proximity to the army headquarters, where protestors had their sit-in that was later dispersed by the military council forces on the 3ed of June 2019.

The acquittal of the accused revolutionaries in the case involving the murder of intelligence sergeant Mirghani Al-Jili.

The court acquitted the revolutionaries accused of murdering intelligence sergeant Mirghani Al-Jili and dismissed the case on March 6, 2023, when the prosecution failed to present evidence or proof of their guilt. In a previous session, the family of the deceased sergeant waived their private right in the case, stating the family is confident of the innocence of the young men arrested in connection with the crime and that they were not involved in the murder of their son. The police had arrested 20 demonstrators consecutively since March 2022, released 12 of them at intervals, and filed charges against 8 of them under Article 130 of the Criminal Code for premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty, for the murder of the intelligence sergeant; they were acquitted in the March 6, 2023 session, after a whole year of detention.

Continuous harassment against Judge (Zuhair Babiker) as a result of his ruling in the murder of the police brigadier general (Buraima) by accusing Kober prison personnel of mistreating the defendant and failing to comply with court orders.

All case files handled by Judge (Zuhair Babiker), including the case of the martyr (Mahjoub Al-Taj) and other cases, were withdrawn, and he was compelled to stay absent from the pending hearings before him on “compulsory” leave without his request, after he refused to apply for a transfer or leave as requested by authorities.
Judge (Zuhair Babiker) is the judge who is presiding over the trial of the revolutionaries accused of murdering police brigadier general Buraima.
These arbitrary actions were used against the judge for his decision to file criminal reports against the director of Kober Prison for breaching court orders and for his participation, along with other guards, in mistreating the accused. During the sessions, he also issued orders and directives that were apparently not please the judicial authorities, such as allowing the defense to view the daily investigation records, which is a right guaranteed by the law, and his refusal to bring the accused handcuffed to the courtroom. He also ordered the accused (Tupak) to be transferred from Kober prison to Al-Huda prison after it was proven that he was mistreated, assaulted, and tortured. Judge Al-Moez Al-Jazouli was presented with the case file.