Sudan’s Burhan says ‘no negotiation, compromise’ with paramilitary RSF

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan's Sovereign Council leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said Thursday that there will be no negotiation or compromise with groups taking up arms against the state.

“The army will not abandon those who took up arms to fight alongside it in the war of dignity,” Burhan said during a visit to the Omdurman military area west of the capital Khartoum.

“They will be partners in any political project in the country. We will not exclude anyone,” he added in his comments as cited by a military statement.

"There will be no negotiation or compromise with those who have taken up arms against the state and the people, and we are continuing on the path to victory until we cleanse every inch of the country from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” Burhan, who is also the army chief, said.

The Sudanese army has recently made military gains against the RSF in Khartoum and other states in recent weeks.

According to witnesses, explosions were heard in central Khartoum with smoke columns rising amid intense clashes between army forces and RSF fighters.

The army also continued to advance in the Soba area, south of Khartoum, to control the Soba Bridge, which connects the East Nile area to Khartoum, witnesses said.

The army and RSF have been fighting a war since mid-April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.

International and UN calls for an end to the war are mounting, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe as millions face famine and death due to food shortages. The conflict has spread to 13 of Sudan’s 18 states.