Sudan’s Burhan, Hemeti appear together to dismiss claims of dispute among military elites

KHARTOUM – The President of Sudan’s Sovereign Council General Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his first deputy General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo have appeared together to dismiss claims on social media and by senior Sudanese officials that there is a disagreement between the two and key members of the sovereign council.

General Burhan is the commander in chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) while General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who is better known as Hemeti, is the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The two men sat side by side during a meeting with senior commander of the Sudanese army and RSF in the capital Khartoum on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok launched an initiative to address the political crisis in the country.

The Sudanese premier said during his briefing on the initiative that there is a worrying existence of military-military fragmentation and demanded the involvement of civilians in the process of reforming the military apparatus, after reports during the past few days of stormy disagreements between army leaders and the Rapid Support Forces regarding the latter’s integration and its leaders’ rejection of the move.

During the meeting with the officers, the head of the Sovereignty Council and his deputy denied the existence of differences between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, and they agreed that what is being avenged on this matter is nothing more than “rumours.”

“The army and the Rapid Support Forces are one force at the heart of one man. Its goal is to preserve the security of the homeland, citizens, and territorial integrity, and it is on the lookout for the enemy that seeks to dismantle Sudan,” al Burhan said.

“We will not allow any party to spread rumors and sow discord among the components of the security system,” he added.

For his part, Hemeti called for the “elimination of the dangerous rumors targeting the army and Rapid Support Forces in its infancy, and ensuring that it is immunized from its harmful purposes.”

He further added that the “army and the Rapid Support Forces represent one force that follows the commander in chief and commands his orders.”