The Central Reserve Forces (CRP) (
Arabic: قوات الاحتياطي المركزي), also known as Abu Tira (
Arabic: أبو طيرة) due to the eagle on its logo,[2] is a militarised
police unit in Sudan known for committing atrocities during the
War in Darfur[3] and the
Sudanese revolution.[4] The CRP is sanctioned by the US for "serious human rights abuses".[5]
History
The idea of having a central reserve forces came in 1970 when the Khartoum Directorate established a civil defence force consisting of one faction, trained in the
Federal Republic of Germany, to be reserve forces for the police forces in
Khartoum State and other states, especially in riots and demonstrations, in order for the regular police to devote themselves to performing their role in preventing or detecting crimes. Then the Sudanese Central Reserve Forces were established in 1974[6] pursuant to Republican Decree No. 475 issued by the President
Gaafar Nimeiry.[7] They are police forces within 6 basic units of the
Sudanese Police, whose command is directly under the
Ministry of Interior.[7] The CRP was then led Colonel Ismat Manni.[8]
Since 1992,[9] the CRF officially falls under the Ministry of Interior and operates under the mandate of the
1992 Police Force Law. However, in practice, the CRP has operated as an auxiliary force to the
National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) under former president
Omar al-Bashir, and this arrangement survived NISS's transition to the General Intelligence Service (GIS) in 2019, following al-Bashir's ouster from office.[5] The CRP is the largest police department[10] and has it headquarters is in
Kalakla, Khartoum.[7][11]
The CRP has been involved the
War in Darfur,[12][13][14] and in multiple violent responses to peaceful protests including rape, killing and torture.[15] For instance, on 17 January 2022, the CRP and the anti-riot police led a deployment to suppress
demonstrations across Khartoum, where it used live ammunition.[5][16] On 21 March 2022, the CRP was sanctioned by the US.[15][17]
During the
war in Sudan that started on 15 April 2023 between the
Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the CRP announced it would be deploying officers to the streets of Khartoum to "secure public and private property",[18] as one of several paramilitary groups intervening on the side of the SAF.[19][20] On 25 June, the RSF seized the headquarters of the CRF in Khartoum.[21][22][23] During the
Battle of Wad Madani, the RSF seized the CRP camp near Hantoub bridge.[24][25] On 31 October, troops of the
Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) attacked the CRP camp in Mershing,
South Darfur, killing three and injuring four in the attack.[26]