Sudan's military ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Monday dashed hopes of talks to end a months-long war, denouncing the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as 'traitors' and promising a decisive victory in a speech to soldiers.
Sudan's General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan listens to the national anthem after landing in the military airport of Port Sudan on his first trip away following the crisis in Sudan's capital Khartoum since an internal conflict broke out, in the city of Port Sudan, Sudan, August 27, 2023.
"We do not make deals with traitors, we do not make deals with anyone who has betrayed the Sudanese people," Burhan, who is also the head of the army, told cheering soldiers at the Flamingo Base in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The two forces had shared power since toppling Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and blame each other for starting the war, which broke out amid plans to integrate their troops into a single force as part of a transition to democracy.
"We are dedicating all our time to this war ... to ending this rebellion," Burhan said, promising a quick and decisive victory, echoing previous statements from the military leadership.Burhan denied that his troops had received any foreign assistance and said his exit from the capital was thanks to a military operation involving the air force and navy, and that two soldiers had died in the action.