The Third Front, known as Tamazuj, is a claimed rebel group based in the

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

and Kordofan regions of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Name

The word ''tamazuj'' has been translated from a South Sudanese Arabic word meaning "blend" ().

History

Apparently formed during the leadup to the

Juba Peace Agreement The Juba Peace Agreement, also known as the Juba Agreement for Peace in Sudan, or simply the Juba Agreement, is a peace agreement, with a preliminary signing on 31 August 2020, in Juba, South Sudan, by the Sudanese government, headed by Abdallah ...

for the purpose of signing the agreement as a rebel group, the Third Front/Tamazuj was widely accused of being inserted into the process by the government of Sudan as a false rebel group. It claimed to be a former part of the SPLM-N rebel group, but this was denied by both major factions of that group. A UN investigation found that the Third Front / Tamazuj was possibly led by

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

militiamen who had served under

Riek Machar Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who serves as the First Vice President of South Sudan. Political life In February 2020, Machar was re-sworn in as first vice president following a revitalised ...

in both the Second Sudanese Civil War (as part of the SPLA) and the

South Sudanese Civil War The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état. ...

(as part of the

SPLA-IO The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (abbreviated SPLM-IO), also known as the anti-governmental forces (AGF), is a mainly South Sudanese political party and rebel group that split from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in 20 ...

), having spent the time between those two wars as part of the Popular Defence Forces (PDF), a paramilitary group under the government of Sudan. They were said to have been allowed to join the peace process at Machar's urging. Tamazuj was one of the signatories to the

signed in October 2020, after which it grew quickly in strength and power, recruiting new fighters from Darfur and opening offices across Sudan. In 2021, they won two seats in the legislative council, including the head of a parliamentary committee and a commission. On August 17, 2023, Tamazuj declared its formal alliance with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing conflict against the Sudanese Armed Forces. On March 12, 2023, Tamazuj stormed a police station in Khartoum, believing the security forces there assaulted one of their leaders. According to Tamazuj, a group of police officers severely beat the general and broke his leg. In retaliation, the group surrounded the station using one armed and eight small vehicles while firing air guns. According to the Sudan Tribune, Tamazuj has more than agreed troops in Khartoum. The incident is part of a wave of similar occurrences in the capital.

References

Rebel groups in Sudan Sudanese civil war (2023–present) {{Sudan-stub