In a previous interview I documented the case of Liwa al-Furqan as an example of an auxiliary force for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in its conflict with the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Similarly, there are also auxiliary factions and forces fighting on the side of the RSF. It is likewise important to understand their own perceptions of the conflict and motivations.
Below is an interview I conducted with the ‘Democratic Revolutionary Awakening Council’ (DRAC), which is broadly aligned with the RSF.
Q: When was DRAC founded?
A: It was founded in 2008 and the council’s role was officially inaugurated in 2013. The council officially became opposed to the Sudanese government in 2017.
Q: What are the council’s foundational aims?
A: The DRAC, headed by Dr. Musa al-Ghali Harin, has a political project called the ‘Alternative Sudan Project’ that seeks to achieve a modern democratic, civil, constitutional state, a state of citizenship and equal rights.
Q: In which area was the council formed?
A: The council was established in Darfur but it is composed of all the provinces.
Q: Does the council reflect a specific component of Sudanese society?
A: No. The DRAC is composed of all the Sudanese people’s components, and this is apparent in the council’s supreme leadership that is considered a mix of all the various components of Sudan.
Q: In which battles has the council participated and what is the number of ‘martyrs’?
A: The council has participated in some battles where it is considered necessary to have done so. As for the martyrs, the council has offered many (may God accept them with His encompassing mercy).
Q: For what reasons has the council aligned with the RSF?
A: Because of the state leadership’s discourse at the time or at the beginning of the war that was the opposite of the discourse of the RSF that adopted the line of the people’s revolution and its slogans at the time.
Q: What kind of state does the council want? Does the council want a secular or Islamic state?
A: We want a modern, democratic civil constitutional state. We are neither extreme secularists nor extreme Islamists. We want a state in which all these classifications fuse.
Q: There is a big controversy about the Emirates’ role in the current war. How do you assess the Emirati role?
A: We support the Emirates’ role in supporting an end to the war in Sudan and its role with the quartet, but we reject external intervention in any form, particularly that which fuels the continuation of the violence and thus the shedding of Sudanese blood and destruction. This applies not only to the Emirates, but rather we reject all negative interventions that fuel the war in our land. We support any positive role on the part of the Emirates and others in supporting our people with humanitarian aid and striving to stop the war.
Q: Before the war broke out, there was talk about normalising relations with Israel. What is your position on this matter?
A: Normalisation with Israel is a matter that is not settled by organisations, parties and peoples’ opinions, but rather the matter is decided by the people and constitution. We seek to deal with all the peoples of the world on the basis of joint participation and partnership, but we reject oppression, subjugation and tyranny inflicted on any of the peoples of the world, including the people of Palestine.
Q: What is your message to the international community?
A: The international community must make efforts, strive sincerely and play a positive role to stop the war in our land, and urgently mobilise to deliver humanitarian aid to our people. There are those who really need this land. The international community must help our people rise again and combat totalitarian dictatorships, extremism and tyranny. Our people want to live as the rest of the free peoples of the world do.
Published originally on November 30, 2025, under the title “The War in Sudan: Interview with a Pro-RSF Faction.”
