Sudan's al-Burhan in Qatar to discuss Sudanese war, bilateral relations

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Thursday headed to Qatar for an official visit to discuss his country's ongoing crisis and bilateral relations.

In a statement, the ruling Sovereignty Council in Sudan, chaired by al-Burhan, said he will hold talks with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to discuss "issues of common interest, and the situation in Sudan."

Al-Burhan is accompanied by Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq and his intelligence chief Ahmad Muffadal.

The statement, however, did not mention the duration of his visit or if there were other destinations on al-Burhan's schedule.

The visit is al-Burhan's third foreign tour after Egypt and South Sudan since the outbreak of the fighting in Sudan in mid-April.

Late on Wednesday, al-Burhan issued a decree to dissolve his rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and directed his country's concerned authorities to implement the constitutional decree to dissolve the RSF.

Since the beginning of the war between the RSF and the Sudanese armed forces on April 15, thousands have been killed and more than 7 million displaced, especially in Khartoum and Darfur state, according to UN figures.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar​​​​​​​ in Ankara