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Sudan: Tensions Rise as Military Confrontation Looms

An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)
An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)
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Sudan: Tensions Rise as Military Confrontation Looms

An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)
An image of reinforcements belonging to the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan (Social Media)

Tensions between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have peaked, with both sides resorting to military mobilization and counter-mobilization.

International, regional, and domestic mediators from civil and armed factions have rushed to take urgent action to halt the mutual escalation and calm the situation before it worsens.

The dispute arose on Wednesday after the RSF, an elite paramilitary force, deployed troops in the city of Meroe, north of Khartoum.

However, the army intercepted these forces and prevented them from advancing from around the international airport of the city.

Local sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the situation in Meroe remained tense until Thursday evening.

Both parties remain in a state of extreme readiness in their positions, sources added.

Reports from military sources indicated that the army gave the RSF a 24-hour deadline, which ended on Thursday, to withdraw immediately from the city.

Despite the army’s deadline, RSF units are still stationed in their positions, sources revealed.

Social media activists reported that RSF armored and military vehicles, led by the deputy chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemetti), had arrived from Darfur and were bound for military sites and headquarters in the center of the capital, Khartoum.

The military movements by the army and RSF have raised concerns and serious worries among citizens about the country being dragged into a civil war.

A convoy of vehicles belonging to the RSF, which included armored trucks, was spotted entering Khartoum and roaming its streets.

Rising tensions led the US embassy in Khartoum to issue a warning to its citizens against traveling to the northern state and adjacent areas.

“Due to the increased presence of security forces, American citizens are advised to avoid travel to Karima, Northern Sudan, and surrounding areas,” said a statement released by the US embassy.

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Cash Crunch Leaves Syrians Queueing for Hours to Collect Salaries

Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
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Cash Crunch Leaves Syrians Queueing for Hours to Collect Salaries

Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP
Syrian civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs, and withdrawals are capped. LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

Seated on the pavement outside a bank in central Damascus, Abu Fares's face is worn with exhaustion as he waits to collect a small portion of his pension.
"I've been here for four hours and I haven't so much as touched my pension," said the 77-year-old, who did not wish to give his full name.

"The cash dispensers are under-stocked and the queues are long," he continued.

Since the overthrow of president Bashar al-Assad last December, Syria has been struggling to emerge from the wake of nearly 14 years of civil war, and its banking sector is no exception.

Decades of punishing sanctions imposed on the Assad dynasty -- which the new authorities are seeking to have lifted -- have left about 90 percent of Syrians under the poverty line, according to the United Nations.

The liquidity crisis has forced authorities to drastically limit cash withdrawals, leaving much of the population struggling to make ends meet.

Prior to his ousting, Assad's key ally Russia held a monopoly on printing banknotes. The new authorities have only announced once that they have received a shipment of banknotes from Moscow since Assad's overthrow.
In a country with about 1.25 million public sector employees, civil servants must queue at one of two state banks or affiliated ATMs to make withdrawals, capped at about 200,000 Syrian pounds, the equivalent on the black market of $20 per day.

In some cases, they have to take a day off just to wait for the cash.

"There are sick people, elderly... we can't continue like this," said Abu Fares.

'Meagre sums'
"There is a clear lack of cash, and for that reason we deactivate the ATMs at the end of the workday," an employee at a private bank told AFP, preferring not to give her name.

A haphazard queue of about 300 people stretches outside the Commercial Bank of Syria. Some are sitting on the ground.

Afraa Jumaa, a civil servant, said she spends most of the money she withdraws on the travel fare to get to and from the bank.

"The conditions are difficult and we need to withdraw our salaries as quickly as possible," said the 43-year-old.
"It's not acceptable that we have to spend days to withdraw meagre sums."

The local currency has plunged in value since the civil war erupted in 2011, prior to which the dollar was valued at 50 pounds.

Economist Georges Khouzam explained that foreign exchange vendors -- whose work was outlawed under Assad -- "deliberately reduced cash flows in Syrian pounds to provoke rapid fluctuations in the market and turn a profit".

Muntaha Abbas, a 37-year-old civil servant, had to return three times to withdraw her entire salary of 500,000 pounds.

"There are a lot of ATMs in Damascus, but very few of them work," she said.

After a five-hour wait, she was finally able to withdraw 200,000 pounds.

"Queues and more queues... our lives have become a series of queues," she lamented.