By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Sudanese army chief and the country’s de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says his government would not join in peace talks with rival paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, in Switzerland.
Instead, he says he’s ready to “fight for 100 years.”
“We will not go to Geneva … we will fight for 100 years,” Burhan, whose troops have been battling the RSF for over 16 months, told reporters on Saturday.
Heritage Times HT recalls that the United States opened talks in Switzerland on August 14, seeking to the human suffering and achieving a lasting cease-fire.
While an RSF delegation showed up for peace talk but the al-Burhan-led Sudanese armed forces expressed dissatisfaction with the format and did not attend. It however maintained telephone contact with the mediators.
The talks were co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations being part of the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan Group (ALPS).
The discussions ended on Friday without a cease-fire reached but progress was made in the area of securing aid access on two key routes into the country that has faced one of the worst humanitarian crises.
According to UN records, more than 25 million persons across Sudan, more than half its population face acute hunger.
