Al-Burhan renewed his refusal on Friday any “truce or peace” with the “Rapid Support Forces”) unless the latter relinquish their weapons.
This came in a speech by Al-Burhan before a crowd of citizens during his visit to Al-Sreiha village in Gezira State in central Sudan, according to the Sudanese news agency.
Al-Burhan said: “Anyone who comes to mediate between us (the army and the Rapid Support Forces), we say to them: If the rebels do not lay down arms and sit on the ground, then there will be no talk, no peace, and we will not accept them in Sudan, neither them nor those who stand with them.”
He added: “We will continue on this path; either we eliminate them or we keep fighting them until we give up our lives. But we have no truce or peace talks with them.”
Al-Burhan pointed out that “all Sudanese have suffered from this war, and there is no one who is not affected. The war has left devastating effects on all of us.”
He continued: “But our consolation in this homeland is that our national unity and affairs are interconnected, and we are all united.”
Al-Burhan also said: “Since the beginning of this war, we are all determined that it will not end except with the end of these rebels.”
A few days ago, the US President’s Advisor for African Affairs, Masud Boulos, said in a statement: “The United States urges the parties to the conflict in Sudan to immediately agree to and implement the proposed humanitarian truce.”
Boulos did not specify the details of the truce or how it would be implemented. However, the Rapid Support Forces announced a week ago their acceptance to “join a humanitarian truce” proposed by the “Quad Committee” countries: the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE.
Al-Burhan said: “Sudanese people have been harmed by these rebels; they killed, tortured, looted, and abused them, and they will only receive from us what makes them taste suffering,” referring to the ongoing fighting against the Rapid Support Forces.
He explained that his visit to this area was to assure citizens that “the rights of the martyrs will not be lost,” adding: “The blood of everyone killed in Sudan is on our necks.”
He continued: “Our covenant is that we have no talks with the rebels.”
Al-Burhan said: “We reassure our people that these killers and criminals have no place with us in Sudan. Our message is: If you want peace and want Sudanese to go with you in peace, gather these mercenaries in one place and collect their weapons; otherwise, no one will talk to them.”
He affirmed that the battle against the Rapid Support Forces “will not end unless everyone participates in it.”
He added: “Therefore, everyone capable of bearing arms must participate in this battle. It will not end with negotiations or a truce but by eliminating the rebellion.”
On his part, the advisor to the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Al-Basha Tabiq, said in a post on the American platform “X” that “Al-Burhan’s announcement of general mobilization and his explicit rejection of any negotiations represents a direct response to the statements of the US Secretary of State, and a clear message to the international community and anyone who thinks Al-Burhan might respond to international initiatives aimed at ending the war in Sudan,” according to his expression.
Tabiq added: “His condition (Al-Burhan) to hand over the weapons of the Rapid Support Forces before any negotiation is nothing but daydreams and wishes far from reality,” he said.
On October 25, Boulos said that the Quad Committee discussed in Washington an “urgent humanitarian truce and a permanent ceasefire” in Sudan, and formed a joint committee to coordinate urgent priorities.
At that time, Boulos explained in an official briefing that the Quad members reaffirmed their commitment to the ministerial statement issued on September 12, which called for a three-month humanitarian truce to allow urgent humanitarian aid to enter all areas of Sudan as a prelude to a permanent ceasefire.
Following this, a comprehensive and transparent transitional process will be launched and completed within nine months to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people to establish an independent civilian government with wide legitimacy and accountability.
In addition to El Fasher, the three states of the Kordofan region (North, West, and South) have witnessed fierce clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in recent days, leading to the displacement of tens of thousands recently.
Out of Sudan’s 18 states, the Rapid Support Forces currently control all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except some northern parts of North Darfur still held by the army, which controls most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital Khartoum.
(Anadolu Agency)
