Agencies- Darfur 24
The Sudanese army commander, Lieutenant General Abdel -Fattah Al -Burhan, said on Friday that he did not request military support during his recent regional tour and that he prefers to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict that killed thousands and caused the displacement of millions of civilians.
Al -Burhan also said in an interview with “Reuters” that he had asked the neighboring countries to stop sending mercenaries to support the paramilitary rapid support forces.
The war between the army and the rapid support forces erupted in mid -April due to plans to formally integrate the rapid support forces into the army as part of a political transition after four years of overthrowing President Omar al -Bashir, who has ruled the country for a long time, in a popular uprising.
Al -Burhan said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York: “Every war ends in peace, whether peace by negotiations or by force, and we are going on in the same paths, and our preferred path is the path of negotiations, and there is a Jeddah path and we are optimistic that we may reach a positive result.”
Al -Burhan has made a series of foreign tours in recent weeks after remaining in Sudan during the first months of the war in light of the escalation of fighting.
He added that the purpose of his foreign visit was to seek solutions, not military support, but he asked other countries to stop external support, which confirms that the Rapid Support Forces are receiving.
Al -Burhan said: “We
asked our neighbors to help us monitor the borders to stop the influx of mercenaries, and there are many foreign fighters in these forces who came from all neighboring countries and they will be in the future a threat to the Sudanese state and the countries of the region.”
Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, known as Hamidati, said in a video speech published on Thursday and coincided with the speech of the Alburhan before the United Nations General Assembly, that he is ready for a ceasefire and political talks.
The previous allegations of the two sides did not succeed that they wanted peace and are ready to stop the shooting to stop the bloodshed.
Witnesses say that the bombing of the army has caused civilian casualties, and that the Rapid Support Forces are responsible for looting, sexual violence and other violations on a large scale, as well as participating in attacks with ethnic targets in Darfur.
On Friday, Al -Burhan denied the accusations against the army, describing it as propaganda from its competitors. The Rapid Support Forces also denied responsibility for the violence in Darfur, and said that it would hold its men accountable for any violations.
Al -Burhan said that the deployment of the army in Al -Geneina, which witnessed the worst mass killings in Darfur, was limited, which hindered its ability to respond.
The violence reached its climax after the killing of the governor of West Darfur on June 14. Al -Burhan said that he asked the governor to take care of the army, but he refused and did not expect treason from the rebel groups.
He added that “the armed forces in Al -Geneina are not enough to deploy in the whole region of El -Geneina.”