The deputy commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday urged members of Darfuri armed movements fighting in El-Fashir to lay down their arms and leave the city, pledging full protection until they reach their home areas.
In a video message posted online, Lt. Gen. Abdel-Rahim Dagalo said rank-and-file fighters from the Darfur movements, who are part of a joint force supporting General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) in North Darfur’s capital, had been “deceived and dragged into a war that is not theirs.”
Dagalo insisted RSF units would escort any group that chose to withdraw from the front lines.
Dagalo accused SAF commanders and Islamist allies of shelling both RSF and Darfuri communities with “chemical weapons,” warning that even a minor victory by the SAF would end with the elimination of those same allied rebel fighters.
“We do not want to pass this enmity to future generations,” he said, describing the offer as “forgiveness from a position of strength.”
The RSF, which has battled the SAF for more than a year, tightened its siege of El-Fashir last month, raising fears of mass civilian casualties in the last SAF-held city in Darfur.
Dagalo said his forces previously guaranteed the safe evacuation of prisoners’ families from El-Fashir to Ambro, Kornoi and Tina, and would do the same for any fighters choosing to depart.
The RSF’s overture comes amid mounting international pressure to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in North Darfur, where tens of thousands of residents have already fled weeks of shelling and street battles.
