Army head of Sudan says he is prepared for peace negotiations

The leader of Sudan’s military said he is open to having a conversation with the rebel group’s commander. They are currently fighting for control of the country.

Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said he agreed in general to meet with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The two men have been fighting a very violent war within their own country since April. The United Nations has stated that over 5,000 people have been killed as a result of this war.

It means that over five million people have been forced to leave their homes.

Gen Burhan, who took control in a 2021 takeover, talked to the BBC in a rare interview after giving a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.

He is in charge of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and is traveling around the world to get support from other countries and gain recognition for his leadership. However, he has not given up his power to civilian authorities.

The leader disagreed when people said his troops were attacking innocent people. But the United Nations and nonprofit organizations have proof that they are carrying out air strikes without considering who might be affected, hitting homes where regular people live.

He said he believed he would win, but acknowledged that he had to move his main office to Port Sudan because the fighting in the capital Khartoum had made it impossible for the government to keep going.
Gen Burhan said he is willing to have a meeting with Gen Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, if he keeps his promise to safeguard civilians. Both sides made this commitment during their negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May.

Gen Burhan said that they are prepared to start talking about a deal.

If the leaders of these rebellious groups want to be reasonable and take their soldiers out of the places where people live and go back to their bases, we will talk to any of them. Whenever he keeps his promise in Jeddah, we will come together to solve this problem.

In a video message, Hemedti said he is prepared for political discussions.

Both leaders have discussed stopping the fighting in the past, but it hasn’t made the fighting decrease.

General Burhan said Sudan will not become a failed state like Somalia or a divided country like Libya.

Sudan will stay together as one country. Sudan will continue to be a whole country, and not a country that has failed. We don’t want the same things that happened in the other countries you mentioned. The people of Sudan are all supporting one cause now, which is to peacefully stop this mutiny or fight against it,” he said.

The United Nations has declared that neither side of the war seems likely to achieve a clear win through their military efforts.

Gen Burhan said he was very sure that he would be able to defeat the RSF. However, he acknowledged that the fighting had made him leave the city.

“He said that in Khartoum, the embassies, ministries, and all government bodies are unable to perform their usual duties. ” “Due to the ongoing conflict, there are people with guns hiding and military activities happening. ” That is why no organization can currently operate in Khartoum.

Many people in Sudan are being killed in random air attacks by Gen Burhan’s forces, especially in the city of Khartoum. But the leader said that innocent people were not being intentionally singled out and attacked.

The rebel forces are making up fake stories and acting like the armed forces. They are attacking innocent people and recording it as if it was done by the actual armed forces. We are skilled fighters, and we carefully choose specific places to attack where only the enemy is. We do not attack innocent people and we do not aim at places where people live.
The ex-UN special representative to Sudan, Volker Perthes, told the Security Council recently that “people with an air force, specifically the SAF, frequently carry out random bombings from the sky without choosing specific targets. ”

The fighting in Sudan has started again and has caused more disagreements between different tribes. This is especially happening in Darfur, which is in the western part of Sudan. The RSF and other groups that support them have been accused of causing many deaths, sexually assaulting people, and hurting others in a very severe way.