Sudan army chief headed to UN General Assembly

PORT SUDAN (AFP): Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, at war for months with paramilitaries, was headed to New York on Wednesday to address the UN General Assembly, his office said.

Burhan, de facto leader of Sudan since a 2021 coup, “will lead the Sudanese delegation” to the annual session, the Sovereignty Council he heads said in a statement.

The army chief has made a flurry of visits abroad in recent weeks after shifting base to Port Sudan late last month from army headquarters in Khartoum where he had been holed up under siege since fighting broke out with the paramilitary Rapid Suport Forces (RSF) of his former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, on April 15.

Analysts have said his diplomatic offensive is a drive to burnish his legitimacy in the event of negotiations to end the fighting.

Burhan has already visited Egypt, South Sudan, Qatar, Eritrea, Turkiye and Uganda.

During his UN visit, Burhan intends to address the UN General Assembly and will attend “high level meetings” on the sidelines, the statement said.

The fighting in Sudan has killed at least 7,500 people, according to the NGO Acled and the United Nations says more than five million people have fled their homes.