The head of Sudan's army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has stated his willingness to engage in peace talks with the commander of rebel forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. General al-Burhan, who has been in conflict with Dagalo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April, expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue in principle.
The ongoing internal conflict has been devastating, with over 5,000 casualties and more than five million people displaced, according to the United Nations. General al-Burhan, who came to power through a coup in 2021, made these remarks during a rare interview following his address to the UN General Assembly in New York.
Seeking international support and legitimacy for his leadership, General al-Burhan is on a global diplomatic tour. Despite failing to transfer power to civilian authorities, he denied allegations that his forces are deliberately targeting civilians, counter to reports from the UN and humanitarian organizations, which claim evidence of indiscriminate airstrikes on residential areas.
General al-Burhan expressed confidence in achieving victory but acknowledged that he had relocated his headquarters to Port Sudan due to the impossibility of conducting government operations in the war-torn capital, Khartoum.
He further stated his willingness to sit down with Gen Dagalo, known as Hemedti, as long as both parties uphold their commitments to protect civilians, as agreed upon during talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May. General al-Burhan stated, "We are ready to engage in negotiations. 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."
Hemedti also conveyed his readiness for political talks in a recent video message. However, previous ceasefires have not led to a reduction in hostilities. General al-Burhan emphasized his commitment to maintaining Sudan's unity, dismissing concerns of it becoming a failed state like Somalia or a divided country like Libya. He stated, "Sudan will remain united. Sudan will remain a state intact, not a failed state. We don't want what happened in the other countries you mentioned. The Sudanese people are now united behind one cause, ending this mutiny peacefully or by combat."
Despite General al-Burhan's confidence in defeating the RSF, the UN has reported that neither side seems close to achieving a decisive military victory. He attributed his departure from Khartoum to the ongoing war, explaining, "In Khartoum, diplomatic missions, the ministries, and all government organs cannot carry out their duties as normal. Because it is a war zone, there are snipers and military operations taking place. That is why no entity can now work in Khartoum."
Numerous reports indicate that civilians in Sudan have been killed in indiscriminate airstrikes by General al-Burhan's forces, primarily in Khartoum. However, he denied targeting civilians deliberately, stating, "This is not correct. There are fabrications of some stories by the rebel forces, they bomb civilians and film it as if it was the armed forces. We are professional forces, we work with precision and select our targets in areas where only the enemy is present. We don't bomb civilians and we don't target residential areas."
The conflict in Sudan has reignited tribal tensions, particularly in Darfur in the west, where the RSF and supporting militias have faced allegations of mass killings, rape, and torture.
Published: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66890207
Date Published: Saturday 23 September 2023
Image courtesy of: Oxfam East Africa
