Now on bbc news Zeinab Badawi is in khartoum with hardtalk. Welcome to hardtalk, with me, Zeinab Badawi, from the president ial palace in khartoum. Many here are talking about the new sudan, after the signing of that historic agreement between the military and civilians. My guest in this exclusive interview, his first in the western media, is the man who signed on behalf of the military, and has been described as the most powerful person in sudan. He is general hemeti, leader of the heavily armed, well equipped Rapid Support forces. Now, they have been accused of killing or injuring hundreds of civilians during protests in june and july. Can he and the military be trusted to stick to the power sharing deal . General hemeti, welcome to hardtalk. As one of the most senior members of the sudanese military, can you guarantee that this historic power sharing agreement will be implemented now and in the future . Let me tell you what the american secretary of state, mike pompeo, said on the 15th of august. That he joins the sudanese people in their call for a Transitional Government that is truly civilian led. Do you accept that the power and authority is with the civilians, not the military . Few outside sudan had heard of you, general hemeti, until the revolution. You have been described as the most powerful person in the sudan. Is that how you see yourself . The reason i say you are the most powerful person in the sudan is that you lead the Rapid Support forces, which are well equipped and heavily armed. And under the terms of this agreement, Security Sector reforms mean that your militia has to come under the command of the Sudanese Army. Will you answer to the commander in chief of the Sudanese Army . Does the rsf have a separate budget and command . But who do the forces of the rsf answer to . You, or the commander in chief of the Sudanese Army . How many soldiers are there in the rsf . We hear70,000. What about sudanese soldiers in yemen . You hear people in the country saying they are not happy about sudanese soldiers fighting in the saudi emirati coalition. Would you withdraw sudanese troops from yemen . There are also reports that members of the rsf are not sudanese. Omer ismail from the washington based enough project has said that sudan is now occupied, because the troops that hemeti is using to control and monopolise power, most of them are not even sudanese. They are recruited from chad, mali and niger. Do you have non sudanese members of the rsf, and if so, how many . No non sudanese . I want to ask you specifically about what happened principally injune, when after the initial euphoria of the removal of president Omar Al Bashir, troops opened fire on protesters. Unarmed, peaceful civilians. One protester here in khartoum told me that the army was seen as saviours, now they are seen as killers. What was the role of the rsf, the Rapid Support forces, but the Rapid Support forces were specifically blamed. Let me tell you what one leading sudan expert, alex de waal, said. He said, general hemetis forces rampaged through khartoum, beginning with the camps of the protesters, burning the tents, often with people inside, more than 100 killed, many were raped. The Rapid Support force terrorised khartoum. These are the accusations about your force. But why didnt you stop the attacks on civilians . We also saw some deaths in omdurman and el obeid at the end ofjuly. Why didnt the Rapid Support forces protect civilians . Because you are the Rapid Support forces you were slow to respond then. So who do you think, then, is behind the violence in sudan . You seem to suggest there is a conspiracy. Do you think that supporters of the former president Omar Al Bashir might be involved . You were once a very close ally of Omar Al Bashir, and you are from darfur, and you led a militia there, formed a few years ago. And you helped Omar Al Bashir to subdue the rebels in darfur. Are you proud of your actions in darfur . Do you regret some of the things that happened there, which have been attributed to your forces . All right, but. Although you have not been indicted by the International Criminal court, i have to say that Human Rights Watch in 2014 and 2015 in a report said that the Rapid Support force burnt and looted homes, beat, raped and executed villagers, supported by the Sudanese Army, and it accuses you of overseeing civilian abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killings and mass rapes. Do you have a case to answer in darfur . Because it sounds like you do. President Omar Al Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal court over his alleged actions in darfur. What do you think should happen to him . Do you think he should be handed over to the icc . But do you believe there should be accountability for all the victims of the conflicts in sudan, historic as well as those people who have been killed since december 2018 . Do you accept that there should be . What can you do to ensure there is accountability for all those victims of the conflicts in sudan, including those who died in the recent protests . You know now people like yasir arman, the deputy leader of the revolution united front, says there is still conflict in parts of the sudan, like darfur still, blue nile state, and he says we dontjust want democratisation. He says peace and democratisation go hand in hand. How can you as a senior military leader here in sudan ensure that there is peace, and that those People Living in the conflict ridden areas of sudan are part of this new sudan . You are a businessman, and there are again a lot of reports about where your wealth comes from. Where does your money come from . You are in control of the gold mines, the most profitable gold mines in the country, according to a study by alex de waal, a sudan expert based at Tufts University in the united states. You also receive money for soldiers you sent to fight in yemen. So just tell me, what is the source of your immense wealth . Do you receive money personally from saudi arabia and the United Arab Emirates because you co operate with them in the war in yemen . Are you sudans biggest gold trader, controlling the most profitable mines . Western diplomats here in sudan, as well as civilian political activists and so on, say that you have the ambition to lead the sudan. Do you . General hemeti, thank you very much indeed for coming on hardtalk. Thank you. Hello there. The last two weeks have been pretty unsettled across the uk, quite a lot of rain around, strong, unseasonable winds too. But there are signs, as this week continues to wear on, pressure will begin to build, things will turn drier and warmer, and in fact today is looking like one of those. There will be quite a lot of dry and warm weather around as High Pressure begins to nose in from the south west. We still have a few weather fronts across northern areas. Theyll generate a few showers at times, mainly across central, southern scotland and into northern england, maybe the odd one there for Northern Ireland, but i think elsewhere largely dry. Lovely spells of sunshine after the chilly start. Into the afternoon well see those temperatures reaching 19 21 degrees across england and wales. Closer to 15 18 across Northern Ireland and scotland. So those values are a touch below the seasonal average. As we head through tuesday night, it looks like itll be another largely dry one. One or two showers across northern and western areas. Bit more of a breeze here, but lighter winds further south and east, so that again will lead to a fairly cool night, particularly out of town and where skies clear. So that takes us on into wednesday, then. Weve got pressure building across southern and eastern areas as this High Pressure establishes itself over the near continent, but another area of low pressure could spoil things across the north and the west of the country for wednesday. Most places will start fine with some sunshine around, but then well see this weather front push into Northern Ireland, then into much of scotland through the day. Wet and windy conditions, and ahead of it, perhaps a few showers affecting the north and west of wales, perhaps north west england. But there will be some good spells of sunshine again further south and east, where itll actually feel quite warm, 22 or 23 degrees. That weather system clears away as we head on into thursday. Therell be more weather fronts affecting the north west corner of the country. The further south and east that you are, closest to the High Pressure, the lighter the winds, and also more sunshine around. Well be tapping into some of the warmth over the near continent, so you can see the red colours indicating something warmer, into the low to mid 20s celsius. Friday, similar story well have a weather front affecting the far north west of the country, but actually, with southerly winds, that warmth will spread a bit further north. So well see 20 celsius or even warmer than that for Northern Ireland, parts of eastern scotland, and we could see 26 or 27 degrees across central, southern and eastern england. So thats the picture for friday, and as we head on into the weekend, High Pressure continues to dominate. That is, away from the north west corner of the country, which will always see those weather fronts bringing more cloud at times. But it really will turn warmer. We could see 27 or 28 degrees on saturday across the south and the east. This is the briefing. Im ben bland. Our top story after weeks of Anti Government protests, hong kongs chief executive says she will set up a platform for dialogue. A young womans cleared of murder in el salvador, casting a fresh light on the countrys strict anti abortion laws. A dangerous journey home the Syrian Refugees being forced to return to a war zone. Italys Prime Minister prepares to address parliament as the government braces for a possible no confidence vote
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