On 15 April 2023, armed clashes between the Rapid Support Forces and the regular army in the Sudanese capital Khartoum were reported. Later, the fighting between the military forces spread to other Sudanese regions.

Sudanese Army Chief Ready for Peace Talks With RSF, Media Reports

13:16, 23 September 2023

Rasina Musallimova

Writer

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Since mid-April, the Sudanese army has been fighting a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The epicenter of the violent clashes is in the capital, Khartoum. Since the beginning of the conflict, the warring parties have announced a number of temporary nationwide ceasefires, which have failed to bring security.

Sputnik

Sudan's army chief, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has agreed to talk with the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with whom the country's armed forces have been fighting for about six months, Burhan told the media on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The army leader made it clear that he would only meet with General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the RSF, if he could guarantee the safety of civilians, as both parties had previously agreed upon during their discussions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, back in May.

"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," Burhan stated.

In May, the warring parties began peace talks in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah. Throughout the negotiations, they made a commitment to refrain from launching attacks and to ensure the free flow of humanitarian aid. However they have since accused one another of breaching these very agreements. In late July, the parties broke off negotiations.

This week, Dagalo also noted in a video message that he is ready to negotiate.

In addition, Burhan stressed that Sudan "will remain united" and the ''country is determined to put an end to the conflict by all means.''

"Sudan will remain united. Sudan will remain a state intact, not a failed state. [...] The Sudanese people are now united behind one cause, ending this mutiny peacefully or by combat," he emphasised.

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Furthermore, the leader of the Sudanese army emphasized that despite their retreat from Khartoum, he remains confident in their ability to triumph over the paramilitary faction, media reports.

"In Khartoum, diplomatic missions, the ministries and all government organs cannot carry out their duties as normal," he stated, adding: "Because it is a war zone, there are snipers and military operations taking place. That is why no entity can now work in Khartoum."

Burhan strongly denies the allegations that the army conducted air strikes on residential areas, emphasizing that these claims are completely false and deliberately concocted by the RSF.

"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 army chief explained.

Since April 15, Sudan has been gripped by violent clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the epicenter in Khartoum. Since then, a number of temporary nationwide ceasefires have been declared, but none have helped to resolve the conflict.

In late August, the leader of Sudan's armed forces said he was ready for a long-term cease-fire, stressing that the country's army doesn't ''strike deals with traitors."

In early September, Burhan issued a constitutional decree canceling the law that established the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which are now opposing the country's army.