December 6, Nairobi — General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and de facto leader of Sudan, arrived in Juba, capital of South Sudan on Wednesday to discuss “critical issues regarding the relations between the two countries.”
It was Burhan’s third official visit to South Sudan since the conflict between the SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023. Burhan was received at Juba International Airport by South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit.
The visit coincided with military escalations between the SAF and RSF in areas adjacent to the Sudan-South Sudanese border. Allegedly the fighting is taking place in the oil-rich area of Heglig, which is claimed by Sudan and South Sudan but is currently administered by Sudan.
Burhan’s visit also came after Taban Deng Gai, one of the four vice-presidents of South Sudan, made statements last week about Sudan’s lack of government. Deng Gai spoke about the status of Abyei, another oil-rich area contested by Sudan and South Sudan, and criticized his government’s lack of leadership and meaningful attention to the issue. He questioned the legitimacy of Sudan’s military government.
“There is no government in Khartoum—there is a vacuum,” Deng Gai said.
The delegations in Juba also discussed the pipeline transporting South Sudanese crude oil through Sudan. But the transport has been halted due to technical issues since February. South Sudan, which relies on oil for over 90 percent of its government expenditures, has allegedly been losing $100 million per month, its former finance minister recently said.
Sudan and South Sudan had set a deadline for resuming the oil exports, but allegedly this has already passed.
“We are facing a duel crisis [after] operations were interrupted by the conflict in Sudan,” South Sudanese president Kiir said on Monday. “I am fully engaged with our brothers in Sudan to ensure unfettered access for engineers and a steady flow of materials to the oil fields.”