Sudan’s al-Burhan warns countries supporting RSF

December 31, 2023 (PORT SUDAN) – Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Head of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, has denounced the ongoing atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and urged nations harbouring their leader to cease interfering in Sudan’s affairs.

In his Independence Day address, al-Burhan lamented the destruction wreaked by the militia under Mohamed Hamdan Daglo “Hemetti’s” command, describing their actions as “assassinating civilians, plundering their possessions, occupying their homes, violating their dignity, displacing them, and committing ethnic cleansing.”

He attributed these heinous acts to the support of “traitors to the people and power-hungry individuals” and certain foreign countries, that, he claimed, harbour ulterior motives despite Sudan’s suffering.

“Therefore,” al-Burhan asserted, “I urge nations harbouring these murderers to refrain from meddling in our affairs. Any hospitality extended to the leadership of this rebel group constitutes complicity in their crimes and collaboration in the killing and destruction of the Sudanese people. Moreover, hosting any party hostile to the state and its government is considered overt hostility, and the state has the right to take measures to safeguard its sovereignty and security.”

Hemetti’s recent diplomatic tour, which included meetings with the presidents of Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Djibouti, has further fuelled tensions. Further, Sudanese officials have openly accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Chad of providing the RSF with the weapons and military logistics. Hemetti recently departed Sudan via Chad on a UAE government plane, according to international aircraft registry websites..

This is the first time al-Burhan has addressed the foreign aid to the RSF. He has been criticized for his silence on this matter.

In response to public accusations by General Yasir al-Atta, a member of the Sovereign Council, Chad and the UAE expelled several Sudanese diplomats, prompting Sudan to reciprocate with similar measures against their diplomats in Sudan.

Since the conflict erupted, the head of the Sovereign Council and Sudanese army commander-in-chief has classified the RSF as a rebel force.

Al-Burhan emphasized that the only path to peace lies in the RSF’s withdrawal from Al-Jazirah state and other Sudanese cities, as stipulated in the Jeddah Declaration. Additionally, all looted funds and property, both civilian and government, must be returned, and civilians’ homes and government premises must be vacated.

“Any ceasefire that does not fulfil these conditions will be meaningless, as the Sudanese people will not tolerate living alongside these murderers, criminals, and their supporters,” he declared.

The army chief reiterated that the peace roadmap must encompass all these requirements, stating, “A peace that is incomplete or disregards the dignity and will of the Sudanese people will not be acceptable.”

A meeting between al-Burhan and Hemeti, facilitated by the IGAD in Djibouti last Thursday, was postponed due to technical reasons, according to statements by the Djiboutian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

(ST)