Al-Burhan sets conditions for talks with RSF despite paramilitary advance

KHARTOUM – The head of Sudan’s military, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has set preconditions for negotiations with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), despite recent battlefield setbacks for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Al-Burhan’s comments came as the RSF expanded control in central and eastern Sudan. Last week, they captured Jebel Moya, a strategic hilly area located along the key Rabak-Sennar Highway, and Sinja, the capital of Sennar state, where the Sudanese Armed Forces’ (SAF) 17^th Infantry Division headquarters is based.

They also seized control of the 165^th and 67^th brigade headquarters in Sinja. Yesterday, the RSF attacked and took control of Karkoj and Dinder towns, east of the Blue Nile River.

This advance prompted the withdrawal of SAF troops from Brigade 66 in Mazmoum, located roughly 105 kilometers south of Sinja, 32 kilometers from the border with Blue Nile state, and 110 kilometers from the capital Damazin.

While there’s no evidence the RSF has reached Mazmoum itself, civilians took control of the garrison fearing an attack.

The SAF, however, announced retaking the Doha neighborhood of Omdurman from the RSF. Al Burhan visited the area and addressed troops at Wadi Saedna military base.

“We are advocates of peace and do not want war. But we will not negotiate in a humiliating manner, and we will only negotiate with dignity,” Al Burhan told troops on Tuesday.

The bloody conflict between the SAF and RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), began in April 2023 and has triggered a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing nearly 8 million and killing over 15, according to January 2024 estimates.

Al Burhan who is also Sudan’s de facto president, being the head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, called on mediators to pressure the RSF to leave civilian homes.

“We will not negotiate with an enemy that continues to commit violations, nor with those who support it. Our duty is to prepare for battle, and we see victory before us as we see you now,” he added.

While acknowledging potential battlefield losses, Burhan maintained the army would ultimately win.

“If we lose a battle, we will not lose the war. If we lose people, the Sudanese are many, and the entire Sudanese people stand with the army, except for a misguided group (referring to Taqaddum, an anti-war civilian coalition, advocating or the end of the conflict) that supports falsehood and the Rapid Support Forces militia,” he said.

“This country will not accommodate us both in the future. Either it is us or them. We are committed to handing over the homeland to the Sudanese people free of rebellion, or we will all perish as armed forces,” he added.