Sudan's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan headed to Egypt on Tuesday to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to a military statement. The visit comes a day after Burhan refused to make a deal with the head of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Burhan, chairman of the ruling Sovereign Council, was expected to hold talks with Egypt’s Sisi on the latest developments in Sudan, the council said in a statement.
The Sudanese army chief’s visit to Egypt is his first trip abroad since conflict erupted in April between the military, which he leads, and the powerful paramilitary RSF, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as “Hemedti”.
Burhan on Monday visited Sudan’s eastern coastal city of Port Sudan, where he said a military operation that included naval and air forces enabled him to safely leave army headquarters in the capital, Khartoum. Two people were killed in the operation, he said.
Addressing cheering soldiers in Port Sudan, Burhan ruled out negotiations with the RSF.
"We do not make deals with traitors, we do not make deals with anyone who has betrayed the Sudanese people," Burhan, told soldiers at the Flamingo Base in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
His speech came one day after the head of the RSF expressed openness to talks and a long-term ceasefire, and days after Burhan emerged from the capital Khartoum for the first time since the war broke out.
The two forces had shared power since toppling former dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and blame each other for starting the war, which broke out amid plans to integrate their troops into a single force as part of a transition to democracy.
"We are dedicating all our time to this war ... to ending this rebellion," Burhan said, promising a quick and decisive victory, echoing previous statements from the military leadership.
The RSF "are completely exhausted – just a little effort and they will be finished," he said.
Burhan travelled to Egypt on Tuesday from Port Sudan.
Egypt has longstanding ties with the Sudanese army and its top generals. In July, Sisi hosted a meeting of Sudan’s neighbours and announced a plan for a ceasefire. A series of fragile truces, brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia, have failed to hold.
Deadly violence erupts in Darfur and Kordofan
In recent weeks, the army has fought back a fierce RSF attack on the Armoured Corps base in southern Khartoum, one of its only remaining strongholds in the capital, the other being the army headquarters where Burhan was based.
The siege has led to civilian casualties and has cut off locals from electricity and water, while making it difficult for them to flee, say activists.
The two sides have also fought fiercely for control of Nyala in South Darfur state, with activists reporting scores of civilian casualties and aid agencies saying the city has been cut off from assistance or utilities.
The fighting in Sudan is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to the UN human rights office, although activists and doctors on the ground say the death toll is likely far higher.
More than 4.6 million people have been displaced, according to the UN migration agency. Those include over 3.6 million who fled to safer areas within Sudan, and more than 1 million others who crossed into neighbouring countries.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
