Militias styling themselves the Popular Resistance in Ad Babakr, Khartoum’s East Nile locality, have ordered that no new home rental contracts be approved without prior “security clearance” from their neighborhood security committee. A copy of the directive lists two conditions: written consent from nearby residents for the incoming tenant, and a security screening by the committee before a final contract is signed.
Local coverage and the document itself identify the Popular Resistance units operating in Ad Babakr as militias affiliated with General al-Burhan’s forces (SAF). Their expansion reflects the growing role of SAF-aligned auxiliaries in policing and property matters in parts of Khartoum.
These Popular Resistance formations are part of a broader network of pro-SAF auxiliaries—including Islamist-leaning groups such as the Al-Baraa Ibn Malik brigade—that have fought alongside the SAF against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023.
The move also comes days after SAF commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said all supporting formations would be placed under the SAF’s legal code and command structures—a step that was rebuked by the Joint Forces.
Rights monitors and local outlets note that such “security approvals” are proliferating across East Nile, with committees invoking neighborhood vetting to justify tenant screening, a practice critics say risks arbitrary exclusion.
