A Review of the Book: ``Sudan’s Peace: The Swamp of Militias and Regular Armies``
By Al-Sadiq Ismail
My friend Amir Babiker sent me his book "Sudan’s Peace: The Swamp of Militias and Regular Armies". The book is a precise documentation and commendable effort in dissecting the phenomenon of the proliferation of militias, paramilitary groups, and non-regular forces in Sudan. Before diving into the book, it’s worth noting that my own acquaintance with the author, coincidentally, came about through both of us joining a non-regular force—or if you prefer, a militia—the Sudanese Alliance Forces led by Brigadier Abdel Aziz Khalid. So, Amir Babiker writes from a place of real experience, which gives him an intimate understanding of his books subject. Despite his own background in armed conflict, which might suggest an endorsement of armed struggle and the legitimacy of forming a militia or regular army, he approaches his writing with objectivity. His personal experience is scarcely mentioned, nor is it used as a standard for evaluating the issue of non-regular forces. The only time he speaks from personal experience is when discussing the recent war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF); here, he relies on personal observations to support the point that the war was expected to start a week earlier than it did.
Returning to the book, Amir Babiker expertly addresses the issue of non-regular armies with a high level of professionalism, offering readers valuable insights and historical overviews that allow them to form a well-rounded, informed opinion. Babiker provides strict definitions of various types of non-regular armies, militias, armed movements, and rebellions. To support his definitions, he draws on global examples such as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Russia’s Wagner Group, and the military structure in Switzerland. He also discusses how revolutionary armies, initially formed as militias or rebel forces, later transform into official national armies following liberation or the overthrow of dictatorships. This introduction was essential for Babiker to transition into the core subject of his book: the quagmire of militias and non-regular armies in which Sudan finds itself trapped. Over time, the presence of these forces has become normalized, although it continues to deeply impact the countrys security and stability.
Babiker traces the various rebellions that occurred since Sudan’s independence, which gave rise to non-regular armies and militias demanding political rights. He describes how these forces evolved and fought against the state’s regular military, as well as how post-independence governments responded to them, all the way up to Jaafar Nimeiry’s rule. Nimeiry’s era saw the signing of a peace agreement, ushering in the only period of peace Sudan enjoyed until 1983, when rebellion broke out again, eventually leading to the fall of the May regime. The rebellion continued, and non-regular militias allied with the government, called "friendly forces," emerged. This pattern persisted until the Islamists took power in 1989, a period that saw the dramatic increase of non-regular forces and militias. It’s therefore logical that the majority of the book focuses on the National Islamic Front (NIF) era, during which the regime established the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) as a non-regular force, while its opponents created militias and forces to fight back, such as those formed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The situation in Darfur also escalated during this time, with the NIF government responding along ethnic lines, leading to the creation of the Janjaweed militias, who were supported by the government, while the government simultaneously fought the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) with the assistance of the PDF, which was built on the principles of Islamic jihad.
The author also covers peace initiatives during the NIF era that were signed with some of these militias and non-regular forces, a practice that legitimized these movements or encouraged other rebel groups to seek similar agreements. In his analysis of the NIF’s handling of Darfur, Babiker observes that the use of tribal and ethnic factors led to the formation of new militias, alongside those already formed on religious grounds to fight in the south under the banners of jihad, which the NIF government referred to as the Popular Defense Forces. This observation is key to understanding the roots of the current war, which can be traced back to how the NIF dealt with the situation in Darfur.
Although South Sudan seceded and became an independent state, with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) becoming the official army of the new state, the author noted that the unresolved issues of the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains led to the armies in these regions allying with the Darfur movements. These armies were part of the SPLA, and despite the end of the war in the South, a "new South" emerged, allied with the Darfur movements, resulting in more non-regular armies.
The author also deserves credit for accurately documenting the peace initiatives during the days of the National Congress Party (NCP), listing them chronologically. Despite being labeled as peace initiatives, the author observed that the fundamental aim of these initiatives was to domesticate and weaken these movements, which led to an unintended consequence. The armed movements became more regional and tribal, particularly after realizing that the peace agreements did not provide real solutions but were merely a strategy to reinforce political and security control.
The author dedicated a significant portion of the book to reviewing the December Revolution and its impact on the political landscape. The title of this chapter clearly reflects the books theme: "The December Revolution and the Flood of Militias." Militias played a significant role in shaping the post-revolution situation, with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) having a major role in the regime’s security committee, the same committee that declared its alignment with the revolutionaries and took power. However, the other armed movements, which were part of the Sudan Revolutionary Front, made their biggest mistake when they agreed to a peace agreement with the transitional government based on regional distribution, reminiscent of the NCP’s own strategy. This later had negative consequences, as the author called it "a coup against the revolution itself," where these armed factions participated in paving the way for the coup led by General Burhan and Hemeti in October 2021, which culminated in the outbreak of war after disputes over the "Framework Agreement" that attempted to offer solutions for the multitude of armies by proposing their integration into a professional national army.
Thus, the war broke out, and the RSF returned to being a militia once again, with 92 armed groups in existence, some of which were forced into the conflict, which eventually spread across most of Sudan—a natural result of the failure of politicians to find a satisfactory formula for governing the country and distributing its resources equitably.
The author also reviewed the experiences of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) in Sudan since independence, highlighting the reasons for the success of some initiatives and the failure of others. This is an extremely important chapter, and I wish he had expanded on it further and compared it to experiences from other countries. I agree with the author that the process of integrating and disbanding this vast number of militias and non-regular armies will be the biggest challenge once the current war subsides. Weapons are now more widespread in Sudan than ever before.
The second-to-last chapter was well-placed, discussing "The External Dimension of Militias and Non-Regular Armies." The author meticulously documented the external support and regional ties that have helped these armies and militias persist. He covered most of these movements and the countries that launched or supported them, offering rich material for researchers interested in the external influences on armed movements and militias in Sudan.
The author concluded his book by calling for a national project based on justice, emphasizing the need to review and reform all national institutions. This is the project that the author has dedicated most of his life to advocating, insisting that it is the only way out, and I fully agree with him. I believe that consensus on this project should be built on a federal constitution that returns power and wealth to the people, allowing them to decide through a general consensus that excludes no one and prevents anyone from monopolizing power and privileges.
The book is written in a smooth and concise manner, avoiding unnecessary digressions or verbosity that might dilute the meaning or bore the reader—a success the author Amir Babiker achieved brilliantly. Additionally, the book is filled with important appendices, including the Popular Defense Forces Law, the security arrangements of the Naivasha Agreement, and the Eastern Sudan Agreement. The first appendix was a survey conducted by the "Citizens Center for Peace Culture Journalism" on the disbandment of militias and non-regular forces, and I wished the author had dedicated a chapter to narrate its findings and use it as a measure of how citizens feel about the presence of these militias in Sudan.
In conclusion, I have tried to provide a general overview of the book, and I hope my review draws readers’ attention to this important book, which offers vital information for politicians, journalists, and researchers. The author meticulously cited all the references he relied upon at the end of the book, something that is often missing in many works that stem from preconceived opinions and attempt to tailor sources to fit those conclusions. Amir Babiker, on the other hand, directs readers to all his sources, reinforcing the concept of writing that respects the reader and allows them the opportunity to critically evaluate what they are reading without attempting to sway their thinking.
