SUDAN’S army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has extended conditional approval for negotiations with his rival, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. In an interview with the BBC, Burhan expressed readiness to engage in talks with Dagalo on the condition that he commits to protecting civilians and withdraws his troops from residential areas.
‘We are ready to engage in negotiations,’ stated the army chief. ‘If the leadership of these mutinous forces has the desire to return to its senses and pull its troops out of the residential areas and return to its barracks, then we will sit with any of them. Whenever he commits to what was agreed in Jeddah, we will sit to resolve this problem,’ Burhan affirmed.
Sudan has been embroiled in clashes between the army and the RSF since April, resulting in a conflict that has claimed the lives of 5,000 individuals and displaced over 5.2 million people, according to United Nations figures. Despite several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi Arabian and US mediators, violence in the region has persisted.
Burhan, who also serves as the head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, expressed confidence in prevailing over his rival in the ongoing struggle. He refuted claims that Sudan would descend into a failed state akin to Somalia or a divided nation like Libya due to the ongoin
g conflict, asserting, ‘Sudan will remain united. Sudan will remain a state intact, not a failed state. We don’t want what happened in the other countries.’
Additionally, the Sudanese general denied reports of indiscriminate airstrikes by his forces on residential areas, stating, ‘This is not correct.’ Burhan emphasised that rebel forces were fabricating stories and falsely attributing civilian bombings to the armed forces. He stressed the professionalism of Sudan’s military, claiming they target areas solely occupied by the enemy and refrain from harming civilians or targeting residential zones.
During his address to the UN General Assembly, Burhan called for designating the RSF as a terrorist organisation. He highlighted the growing threat posed by the ongoing conflict to regional and international peace and security, as rebel force
s sought support from outlaws and terrorist groups in various regions worldwide.
