Almost every external and domestic powerbroker that has exerted influence over Sudan’s development over the past four decades shares in the blame for this devastating cycle of violence. It starts with the willingness of governments in Khartoum to rely on irregular militias to suppress South Sudanese aspirations for independence and rebellions in the western Darfur region. That enabled figures like Dagalo—commonly referred to by his nickname, Hemedti—to use their armed groups to build business empires involving livestock and gold trading. Similarly, Sudanese governments of all stripes also allowed the armed forces to expand their autonomous business interests, which explains the military leadership’s unwillingness to share power with civilian or paramilitary rivals that could threaten its revenue streams.
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