By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces on Friday vowed that the military will not negotiate for peace with the para-military Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Burhan accused the RSF commander, General Mohamad Hamdan Dagalo of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan.
The RSF perpetrated crimes “in West Darfur and across Sudan”, Burhan told soldiers in the Red Sea state (eastern Sudan) during an address.
The “crimes” according to him have made any reconciliation or deal with the RSF unacceptable.
This comes as the warring generals agreed last month to a face-to-face meeting and to start talks over a possible ceasefire, according to the East African regional bloc IGAD.
The war between the two generals which broke out since April last year has killed more than 12,190 people, according to a conservative estimate from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
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It has equally forced more than seven million to flee their homes, according to UN figures.
RSF commander Hamdan Daglo spent the first months of the war in the shadows but was active on social media.
He embarked on an east Africa tour lately. He already visited Uganda, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, as well as South Africa, a move that has angered the rival Burhan.
The Army commander recalled Sudanese envoy to Kenya after President William Ruto’s meeting with the RSF commander. Burhan also warned African leaders against hosting his rival Dagalo.
The RSF leader told his host heads of states that he is committed to cease hostilities in Sudan, citing “challenges arising from the reluctance of the opposing force and their intentional efforts to prolong this conflict.”
The UN said in a statement Thursday that nearly 25 million people across Sudan will need humanitarian assistance in 2024 “but the bleak reality is that intensifying hostilities are putting most of them beyond our reach.”
