Sudan's army chief will support peace if it RSF ends 'occupation'

UNITED NATIONS, New York 

Sudan’s de facto ruler said Thursday that he wants to end the war in his country, but he said he will not sit with his rival general unless he withdraws his fighters.

"We are keen on stopping the war and restoring peace and security, without any pre-conditions," Army Chief Abdel-Fattah al Burhan told reporters in New York, where he was attending U.N. General Assembly meetings.

However, he stated several conditions for talks to start.

"We will never sit with Hemedti unless his forces pull out, and unless they implement what we agreed to," he said referring to his rival, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti."

Once allies in Sudan's transitional government following a 2021 coup, the two generals have turned into bitter rivals for power. On April 15, 2023, fighting erupted between their forces in the capital, Khartoum. It has since spread across Sudan, resulting in widespread atrocities and killing.

Burhan was asked about new fighting that erupted between his forces and the RSF in Khartoum on Thursday, but did not offer any new details.

Earlier Thursday, Burhan addressed the U.N. General Assembly annual debate. 

He used most of his speech to talk about the war in his country. 

Not to be outdone, his rival, Hemedti, issued a "General Assembly speech" of his own, on the social media platform X.

Ten million people have been displaced and half of Sudan’s population, 26 million people, are struggling with crisis levels of food insecurity. 

Famine was confirmed in August in Sudan’s Darfur region, which has seen heavy fighting. At least 14 other areas of Sudan are considered at risk of famine in the coming months.

"The food gap is there, but it hasn’t reached the level of famine yet," Burhan told reporters.

Regarding efforts by the United States and Saudi Arabia to bring the parties to the negotiating table in Switzerland in August, the army chief said it didn’t happen because "external parties interfered" with the process.

The Sudanese military accuses the United Arab Emirates of arming and equipping the RSF. The UAE was invited to a meeting in Switzerland in August and Burhan did not attend.

He said he was also not happy with how the invitation was sent to him – in his personal capacity, not as head of state. He added that any peace process should be purely Sudanese-led.

Asked about a July phone call he had with the leader of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Burhan said he told the Emirati that the RSF has received either direct or indirect assistance from the UAE in the forms of weapons and training.

He said MBZ, as the UAE leader is known, "promised to reconsider the situation."

A report by a U.N. panel of experts earlier this year said there was substance to media reports that cargo planes originating in the UAE capital had landed in eastern Chad with arms, ammunition and medical equipment destined for the RSF.

Publicly, the UAE denies that it arms the RSF and says it has only sent humanitarian aid to Sudan.