The head of Sudan’s army General Abdel Fattah Burhan has issued a stark warning expressing concerns that the country is at risk of disintegration if the ongoing conflict remains unresolved.
Sudan descended into chaos following months of escalating tensions between the military, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, under the command of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. This tension erupted into open fighting on April 15.
Speaking to the country’s police force in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, General Burhan stated, “We are facing a war, and if it is not resolved quickly, Sudan will be fragmented.”
General Burhan’s recent remarks echo those he made during his visit to Egypt on Tuesday (Aug. 29), marking his first trip abroad since the conflict began. During this visit, he met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to discuss strategies for ending the ongoing strife. However, no specific details regarding potential initiatives or terms were disclosed.
In a separate address on Monday, General Burhan firmly rejected any possibility of reconciliation with the Rapid Support Forces. He appealed to the rebels to relinquish their weapons, emphasising that they had been deceived and misled. He characterised the conflict as manufactured to benefit specific individuals, built on falsehoods, and predicted its imminent end.
The nearly five-month-long conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, into an urban battlefield, with neither side gaining control of the city. In the western Darfur region, previously the site of a genocidal campaign in the early 2000s, the conflict has evolved into ethnic violence. The Rapid Support Forces and allied Arab militias have been targeting non-Arab communities, such as the Masalit, who have organised self-defense groups. Unfortunately, these groups have suffered the most casualties.
According to the U.N. human rights office, the conflict is estimated to have claimed the lives of at least 4,000 people. However, activists and medical professionals on the ground believe the actual toll is significantly higher. The conflict has also resulted in the displacement of more than 4.6 million people, as reported by the U.N. migration agency. This includes over 3.6 million people who have sought refuge in safer areas within Sudan and more than 1 million who have crossed into neighboring countries.