The head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and commander-in-chief of the Sudanese army, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said on Friday that he will not negotiate with the Rapid Support Forces as long as the war continues.
“As long as the war continues (with rapid support), we will not negotiate, and as long as there is an occupation of citizens’ homes and the cities of El Geneina, Nyala, Zalingei, Daein (western Darfur region), Khartoum and al-Jazeera (centre), we will not negotiate,” he told army officers and soldiers in the Wadi Sedna military area in Omdurman, west of Khartoum.
“If the rebels want to negotiate, they must first take their forces out of these cities and assemble them in specific areas,” al-Burhan said.
“We are committed to the Jeddah platform, but the other party must implement the commitments it owes, according to what was signed in Jeddah,” he said.
Al-Burhan refers here to the Jeddah talks between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which took place under the auspices of Saudi Arabia and the United States, on May 11, and resulted in the first agreement between the two sides to commit to protecting civilians, and the declaration of more than one truce during which violations and exchange of accusations occurred between the conflicting parties, prompting Riyadh and Washington to suspend negotiations.
The head of the sovereign council stressed that “everyone is determined to eliminate the rebellion (rapid support).”
“An army backed by the people will never be defeated. He was able to recover a large part of his defense industries, air fleet, artillery and aviation systems. Soon the battle will be decided in favor of the Sudanese people.”
It is noteworthy that the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support have been fighting, since mid-April 2023, a war against the backdrop of a dispute and power struggle that has left about 13,900 dead and more than 8 million displaced and refugees, according to United Nations reports.
Source : Anadolu Agency
