Sudanese Army Chief Demands Dismantling Of RSF as Prerequisite for Peace

KHARTOUM, Xinhua: Sudanese Army Chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said Monday that any peace initiative which does not include dismantling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is “completely rejected.”

The only solution is “the elimination of the militia,” Al-Burhan, also chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, said during a meeting in Port Sudan.

He pledged retribution against those he described as “criminals and killers,” and cited the severe “bloodshed and suffering” in regions like Darfur and El Fasher as narrowing possible solutions.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, ongoing since April 2023, has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced millions across Sudan and beyond.

Regional and international mediation efforts, including a recent proposal by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt for a three-month humanitarian truce followed by a nine-month political process, have so far failed to secure a lasting ceasefire.