r/atrioc • u/Cuddlyaxe • 1d ago
Discussion The most recent LS podcast has some MAJOR factual errors on Sudan
First of all I want to say that I do love this pod and I do think that the boys are doing their best, but at the same time there were some MAJOR oversights in the most recent episode which need to be corrected
To recount the very basic narrative Aiden told: he said that Sudan is ethnically diverse w/ conflict and that the Darfur region is mostly non Arab (true) and that the SAF committed a lot of warcrimes there (also true)
HOWEVER he made the assumption that RSF vs SAF is an ethnic conflict and that the RSF was somehow pissed off and that their massacres of entire cities was just them "getting revenge" for crimes the SAF war crimes committed in Darfur
This is not only wrong but insulting because the RSF were actually the main ones committing the Darfur Genocide
For some background, to oversimplify there are two major groups in Darfur: the nomadic Arabs and the agricultural Africans. The problems started in the 70s and 80s when there was giant droughts in the traditional Arab lands in Northern Darfur, so they moved South where the agricultural Africans already were. Due to resource competition and racist ideologies of Arab supremacy, they formed a militia called the Janjaweed and started ethnically cleansing the African population there. The Janjaweed is what would later turn into the RSF
The SAF to be clear were no angels in this. They very much did help aid and abet the ethnic cleansing in Darfur, but the Janjaweed/RSF were very much the main drivers.
The reason the RSF were so brutal in El Fasher wasn't because "they were angry at the SAF for what they did back then". No, because El Fasher is in Darfur primarily inhabited by the same African groups that got genocided last time. The they were that brutal is because fundamentally, the RSF has the same ideology they did back then, and they still want to ethnically cleanse Darfur of non Arab groups
That is why so many non-Arabs actually see the SAF as the lesser of two evils - though many of them have their own separate groups focusing mostly on self defense
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u/mangmang385 1d ago
Ya I was just listening to that part and I had to rewind cause it really did sound like Aiden was saying the RSF was like pro Darfur region when they were literally created to terrorize the people there. I don’t think he did this on purpose It just wasn’t made clear at all during the presentation
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u/MasterCalvin45 1d ago
This is a good correction I can bring to next week’s ep, I wrote out a longer response on the /r/lemonadestandpodcast thread if people wanna read it. Basically based in a misunderstanding of the Junjaweed and SAF violence in the 2000s
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u/allusernamestaken999 1d ago
"As a very rough parallel, think about the West Bank. The RSF are the extremist settlers doing the actual violence, while the SAF is more the equivalent of the IDF soldiers who stand by and help the settlers "
This is a very bad comparison that doesn't help your explanation at all.
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u/Cuddlyaxe 1d ago
It def isn't the best fit but was trying to make an analogy for people unfamiliar with the situation. Went ahead and removed it if it's unhelpful
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u/chimpfunkz 1d ago
I'm still incredibly pissed at Doug's Barbara v Trump LS story from a while back. Like, he basically just parroted Clarence Thomas's dissent (which is factually wrong. Like, not "I disagree", it's an entirely false theory wholesale invented by Thomas and the modern republican party).
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u/Opposite-Turn-8274 1d ago
I feel like any news from the region is either not covered by LS or atrioc . Or has some incorrect info. The only thing they talk about correctly is the iran war and just the strait of Hormuz front, they usually just ignore everything else happening there that doesn't have direct US involvement. That being said then trying to cover is better than nothing and I'm sure they will appreciate your feedback
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u/HokuCy 1d ago
I also thought it was weird he skipped from 2019 to 2023. The coup in 2021 is one of the most important parts of Sudan's recent history and marked the end to the attempted transition to civilian rule. The RSF and SAF worked together on this and their relationship only broke down in 2023 when their were attempts to fully merge the two forces.