Sudan army chief vows to fight RSF, dismisses Geneva agreement

KHARTOUM, Sudan - Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the Sudanese army chief, insists the military government cannot join Switzerland talks as suggested by members of the international community, insisting that his administration will fight even if it's for '100 years' to defeat the Rapid Support Force (RSF).

The military chief, who is leading the transitional council, said the talks aim at cleansing the paramilitary wing and other elements that are closely fighting the government in the northern African state.

“We will not put down our weapons as the rebellion continues. We will not co-exist with the rebels and we will not forgive them,” he said.

The United States opened talks in Switzerland on August 14, which concluded on Friday, aimed at easing the human suffering and achieving a lasting ceasefire. Throughout this, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have all acted as mediators.

At Geneva in Switzerland, RSF representatives showed up but General Burhan and his team boycotted the event. However, the team was constantly on telephone calls with the mediators.

“Though we were in consistent communication with SAF virtually, we regret their decision not to be present, and we believe that limited our ability to make more substantial progress towards key issues, particularly a national cessation of hostilities,” the mediators said in a statement on Friday.

The war in Sudan, which began last year, has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian and displacement crises. The Sudanese army and the RSF – under Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as “Hemedti” – have been vying for power and control of the African country of 46 million people, Al-Jazeera reports.

US Sudan envoy Tom Perriello told a press conference in Geneva on Friday: “We hope that this will be a source of momentum for much bigger steps and progress down the road.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Friday, Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, said that the international community has failed to exert the necessary pressure to ensure decisive action in Sudan.

“These are two armies that are caught in a pitched, existential battle. The last thing that they’re interested in is respecting agreements that they don’t see themselves as parties to,” he said.

“So I think the only thing that’s going to change their outlook is if we bring real pressure to bear — if there are consequences for not showing up in Geneva.”

GAROWE ONLINE