Sudan’s army chief says backs any solution to end conflict

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said Saturday he supports any solution to end the current military conflict in the country.

Nearly 1,000 people have been killed and thousands injured in clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group since April 15, according to medics.

“The government backs any solution that ends the war launched by the rebel militia with the help of foreign mercenaries and restores calm to the Sudanese people,” al-Burhan said during a phone call with Comoran President and African Union Chairperson Azali Assoumani as cited in a statement issued by Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council.

According to the statement, talks between the two leaders dwelt on Saudi-led efforts to resolve the conflict in Sudan.

Assoumani, for his part, underlined the “necessity to have an African solution for restoring peace to Sudan,” the statement said.

A one-day cease-fire between the army and the RSP came into effect in Sudan on Saturday following mediation from Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Previous cease-fire deals between the two rivals were repeatedly violated, with the two sides trading accusations for the violations.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF over the paramilitary group’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan’s transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar