In 2003, rebels in Darfur - a very poor, remote part of western Sudan - rose up against the government. Can you just remind us what was happening at the time and what was the role of these two generals?
It broke down, and this ignited the fighting we've seen in the capital, Khartoum.ĬHANG: Well, can we go back, Greg, to the early 2000s? - because there was mass slaughter in Sudan's Darfur region. Since then, the two generals have been the most powerful men in the country, but their partnership became strained. Now, in 2019, these generals turned on the longtime president and helped him - drive him from power during a popular uprising.
He heads a powerful paramilitary group that's also part of the government security forces. He's the commander of the military, which, in effect, means he's been the leader or co-leader of Sudan for the past few years. One of them is General Abdel-Fattah Burhan. Can you just tell us more about who these men are? We're seeing two gang bosses shooting it out for control of the terrain in which they make their illicit money.ĬHANG: Two gang bosses? Wow, I mean, this does sound like a pretty brutal power struggle. He's an expert on Sudan who's been involved in that country for decades.ĪLEX DE WAAL: What we are seeing is a mobster shootout. Now, I spoke about the generals with Alex de Waal, who's at Tufts University. MYRE: Well, these generals are fighting for military control, for political control and to protect their extensive business interests. Hi, Greg.ĬHANG: So before we get into the details, can you just help us frame this conflict? Like, how should we view these two generals at the center of all this fighting right now? NPR's Greg Myre has been looking into their story and joins us now. Nearly 20 years ago, they were allies in a brutal military crackdown in Sudan's Darfur region, which was deemed a genocide. These two men actually have a long history of working together. Now we want to take a closer look at the two generals waging a power struggle in Sudan.
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