Sudanese paramilitary chief offers to merge with army to end war in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief proposed to the army on Tuesday that the two forces be integrated to end the war in Sudan, hoping that peace would prevail throughout the country.

"We are fighting for Sudan, but the remnants (in reference to the Sudanese army) are fighting for the authority," Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, said in an audio-recorded message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He proposed that Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan integrate the army with the RSF to ease tension in the country while denying that his forces initiated the war.

He claimed now the number of his forces has doubled.

The Sudanese army has yet to respond to Hemedti's offer to merge the two forces.

More than 3,000 civilians have been killed and thousands injured since the outbreak of violence in Sudan in April between the Sudanese army and RSF, according to local medics.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the warring rivals failed to end violence in the country.

According to UN estimates, nearly 4.8 million people have been displaced by the current conflict in Sudan.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar