Sudan army chief rules out any compromise with RSF paramilitaries

PORT SUDAN (AFP): Sudan’s army chief on Thursday vowed there would be no compromise with paramilitary forces who have been at war with the regular army for more than two years amid a deepening humanitarian crisis.

Speaking on the centenary of the Sudanese armed forces, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan renewed his commitment to the “battle for dignity, to defeat the rebellion, and to make neither compromise nor reconciliation, whatever the cost.”

The remarks come just days after a confidential meeting in Switzerland between Burhan and US Africa envoy Massad Boulos.

According to two Sudanese government sources, the pair discussed a new US peace plan. So far, mediation efforts led by Washington and Riyadh have failed to secure a ceasefire.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have attempted to establish a parallel administration in western Sudan, on territory under their control.

The United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the move on Wednesday, calling it “a direct threat to Sudan’s unity and territorial integrity.”

Sudan’s war, now in its third year, has killed tens of thousands, displaced 13 million and plunged the nation into the world’s worst hunger and displacement crisis.

The European Union on Thursday called on all parties in the civil war in Sudan to “urgently” allow the entry of international aid, as the country weathers its worst outbreak of cholera in years.

“Civilians must be protected, and humanitarian access must be granted,” the EU said in a joint statement also signed by countries including Britain, Canada and Japan.