Burhan Says No Truce with Hemetti as Long as His Forces Are in Sudanese Capital

Sudan's rival military leaders Al-Burhan and Hemetti

April 20, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The head of the Transitional Sovereign Council and Sudanese army Commander-in-Chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stated on Thursday that he would not agree to a truce with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander as long as their forces are present in residential areas and interfering with the functioning of public facilities in Khartoum.

International pressure is mounting on the Sudanese army to accept a ceasefire to allow civilians to receive supplies, and for the sick and wounded to be transported to hospitals or out of combat zones.

During an interview with Al Jazeera TV on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, Burhan explained that the Sudanese army cannot accept a truce that does not serve its intended purpose of providing services and transporting the injured and sick to hospitals. He stated that the RSF had seized five hospitals in the capital to treat their wounded members and taken control of various public facilities and police stations, using them as headquarters for their forces.

He said that the Rapid Support Forces, who are deployed in the streets of the neighbourhoods, established checkpoints for civilians, verifying their identities and extorting them and confiscating their belongings, as well as dealing with people based on their ethnic and regional backgrounds.

“If we want there to be a genuine truce, let’s open the corridors and leave civilians free movement. How do you talk about a truce when you set up checkpoints, search civilians, and occupy public service buildings and state facilities? You can’t talk about a truce under these circumstances, it’s colonialism, not a truce,” he questioned.

However, he said that dialogue with the RSF is attainable only if its forces withdraw from Khartoum. He emphasized that the army does not intend to engage in combat in residential neighbourhoods.

Concerning the conditions of dialogue with his rival, he said negotiations will not be with RSF leaders, but with “parties that want dialogue from within the RSF,” ad he daid.

He said that the Sudanese army maintains control over all parts of the country, and the presence of Hemetti’s forces is limited to the Sudanese capital.

The confrontations between the national army and the paramilitary forces have entered their sixth day, and the battles have escalated around the General Command, areas close to Khartoum Airport, and the outskirts of Omdurman.

Regarding Hemetti’s continuation as the deputy head of the Sovereign Council, Al-Burhan stated that measures would be taken in due course against Hemetti, without further details.

During the interview, the commander in chief of the army accused the RSF leader of attempting to seize the Sudanese state and use the framework agreement to their advantage.

He also accused the militia leadership of seeking to govern Sudan by force, and he vowed not to allow it.

He reiterated that the state cannot be handed over to an individual that acts solely for his interest.

Al-Burhan recounted, “One day, I informed Hemetti that if we are the cause of Sudan’s problems, we should step down together, but he refused, telling me you could leave alone but I would stay”.

(ST)