Sudanese paramilitary leader calls for army to concede defeat in civil war

▶ Proposed meeting between rivals postponed due to ‘technical difficulties,’ ministry says

The leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has called for dialogue to end the country’s civil war, on the condition that army commander Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan admits defeat.

RSF leader Gen Mohamed Dagalo spoke on Monday during a visit to Ethiopia, after army chief Gen Al Burhan marked Sudan’s 68th independence day a pre-recorded speech on Sunday.

The army will only agree to stop the war if the RSF pulls out of Al Jazirah province, Gen Al Burhan said earlier.

The RSF, which is almost in complete control of Khartoum, has also captured several areas including in Sudan’s western Darfur region and localities in the Kordofan region. “This anniversary is on us and the militia and mercenaries of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo continue to destroy the state’s infrastructure, kill citizens, plunder their money, occupy their homes, violate their honour, displace them from their villages and original areas,” Gen Al Burhan said.

He invoked the Jeddah Declaration, brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia and signed by the Sudanese army and RSF in May last year.

The document includes clauses on the withdrawal of RSF forces from civilian spaces.

Gen Al Burhan also said “the return of all looted funds and property of citizens and government moveables, in addition to the evacuation of citizens’ homes and headquarters”, were conditions for a ceasefire.

Gen Dagalo, who was a leader of the Janjaweed militia in the early 2000s, denied that RSF personnel had committed “violations” in Al Jazirah since the group took over its largest cities last month.

The Janjaweed is a notorious militia out of which the RSF was formed by Gen Dagalo. It fought alongside the Sudanese government during a civil war in the 1980s.

Gen Dagalo blamed the civilian killings, rapes and home invasions reported by humanitarian organisations on armed fighters operating outside the RSF’s control.

“We express our deepest regret and sadness for the widespread violations that took place in Al Jazirah state by armed elements not affiliated with the RSF,” he said.

Though his whereabouts have been largely unknown since the start of the civil war in April last year, Gen Dagalo has recently visited neighbouring African countries, including Uganda, where he held talks with President Yoweri Museveni.

The visits were taken by Gen Al Burhan as troubling signs that his rival is scoring diplomatic points in the region while at the same time the RSF is gaining ground against the Sudanese army.

“I am sending a message to the countries that receive those killers to stop interfering in the affairs of Sudan, because any facilitation provided to the leadership of the rebel group are considered a partnership in the crime and a partnership in killing and destroying the people of Sudan,” Gen Al Burhan said.

The rival generals agreed to a meeting last month to discuss a ceasefire.

But the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said last week that it had been postponed due to “technical difficulties”.

The fighting in Sudan has killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced millions, as well as increasing the humanitarian crisis in the country.

I am sending a message to the countries that receive those killers to stop interfering in the affairs of Sudan GEN ABDEL FATTAH AL BURHAN Sudan army chief