Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo reportedly held an undisclosed meeting with Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minnawi during overlapping visits to South Sudan, according to a Sudanese news outlet citing unnamed sources in Juba.
Neither the RSF, the TASIS alliance, Minnawi’s Sudan Liberation Movement nor the South Sudanese government has publicly confirmed that the meeting took place.
The report, first published by December, said South Sudanese officials arranged the encounter while both men were in Juba earlier this month.
Minnawi arrived in the South Sudanese capital on August 10 for talks with senior officials, while Dagalo reportedly made a brief visit to Juba on August 12. Their presence in the city during the same period makes a meeting possible but does not independently establish that one occurred.
According to December’s sources, Dagalo initially rejected a face-to-face meeting with Minnawi but later agreed following intervention by South Sudanese mediators.
The sources did not disclose what the two men allegedly discussed or whether the reported encounter produced any understandings.
If confirmed, it would be their first known direct meeting since Sudan’s war began in April 2023 and could indicate an attempt by Juba to establish discreet communication between the country’s rival political and military blocs.
Minnawi initially declared neutrality in the conflict but abandoned that position in November 2023 and committed his forces to fighting alongside the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Juba explores mediation
The alleged meeting comes as South Sudan seeks a larger role in efforts to end Sudan’s war.
President Salva Kiir said after meeting Minnawi on August 17 that his government was prepared to communicate with all sides and promote dialogue toward a political settlement.
Minnawi publicly said his visit focused on the war, the humanitarian situation and implementation of the 2020 Juba Peace Agreement. His disclosed engagements included meetings with Kiir and presidential security adviser Tut Gatluak.
None of the public accounts of those talks mentioned a meeting with Dagalo.
The December report also claimed Minnawi sought Kiir’s intervention in a growing dispute with SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan over power-sharing arrangements and the integration of armed movements into state forces.
Those claims have not been independently confirmed.
Pressure over military integration
Burhan recently renewed demands that armed movements complete the integration of their fighters into the army, police and security services.
The security arrangements contained in the Juba Peace Agreement originally envisaged completing the assembly and training of those forces within 15 months of the deal’s signing. Implementation remained largely stalled even before the current war erupted.
Minnawi has argued that integration cannot be completed while the conflict continues and other provisions of the agreement remain unimplemented.
His forces are an important component of the SAF-aligned Joint Force, giving him considerable military and political leverage within the Port Sudan camp.
December claimed relations between Minnawi and Burhan have deteriorated over proposed changes to the political and ministerial allocations granted to signatories of the Juba agreement.
The two sides have also differed over demands by the Darfur movements for greater representation within the SAF-controlled authorities.
