Burhan rejects truce in Sudan, vows to continue fighting Rapid Support Forces

Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced that he rejects any settlement to end the war raging in Sudan, affirming that his forces will continue fighting until the Rapid Support Forces are defeated, in his first public response to US pressure aimed at securing a humanitarian truce.

Burhan's remarks were described by observers as an escalation in his war rhetoric, including his insistence that military operations will continue into the Darfur region, as the war that erupted in Sudan since April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces continues.

Political background to the rejection

Burhan's rejection of the truce comes amid reports linking his stance to the army chief's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, a relationship that Burhan's political opponents frequently raise, while official Sudanese sources have not directly commented on the nature of this relationship or its impact on military leadership decisions.

The United States has for some time been pressuring the warring Sudanese parties to reach a humanitarian truce to stop the bloodshed of the war, which has caused a wide-scale humanitarian crisis and led to the internal and external displacement of millions of Sudanese.

The Rapid Support Forces have not yet issued a direct public response to Burhan's latest statements, as the war continues to cause significant human and material losses in multiple areas of Sudan.

The Sudanese army chief's declared position is seen as an indicator of the continuing complexity of the diplomatic landscape surrounding the conflict, amid differing international and regional views on how to end the war.