In a statement on Friday, Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, rejected the latest peace efforts and pledged to persist in the ongoing nine-month war between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, had earlier agreed to a ceasefire proposed by civilian groups, contingent upon the military’s concurrence.
Addressing troops gathered in Port Sudan, Burhan asserted, “The whole world witnessed these rebel forces committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in West Darfur and the rest of Sudan. For that reason, we have no reconciliation with them, we have no agreement with them.”
The war, which commenced on April 15, has inflicted severe devastation across wide areas of Sudan, leading to the displacement of more than 7.5 million people. Despite the RSF gaining apparent dominance in the conflict, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an African trade bloc, brokered a meeting last month between Burhan and Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
However, on Friday, Burhan dismissed the possibility of an in-person meeting and launched scathing verbal attacks against his rival, labeling him a “clown,” “traitor,” and “coward.”
He vehemently rejected the ceasefire deal signed by Dagalo in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, this week. Burhan also criticized leaders of African countries, including South Africa, Ethiopia, and Kenya, who received Dagalo as a statesman during recent visits, along with Sudanese politicians who met him in Ethiopia.
Amidst growing popular resistance in northern Sudan against the RSF, following their raid on Gezira State and the ransacking of farming villages last month, Burhan announced plans to arm Sudanese civilians willing to combat the RSF. He urged them to join the military, emphasizing the threat of the country falling into “bondage and colonialism,” pointing an accusing finger at the United Arab Emirates, which the army accuses of supporting the RSF.
Dagalo, in response, shared photos of himself disembarking from a jet owned by a UAE airline, providing flight records indicating its visits to locations on his regional tour. The situation remains tense as the conflict in Sudan shows no signs of abating, with both sides remaining entrenched in their positions.