Sudan’s al-Burhan rejects role for RSF backers in peace process
September 26, 2024 (NEW YORK) – The head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council on Thursday rejected any role in peace talks for countries that have supported the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing conflict with the army.
“It will not be acceptable to the government and people of Sudan for any country or organisation that supported the war or participated in the killing and displacement of Sudanese people to participate (in the peace process),” General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He did not name specific countries but said support had included arms supplies, facilitating their passage, or political backing.
The war between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has killed thousands, displaced millions, and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
Al-Burhan said his government was ready to participate in any peace process that supports “national ownership of the solution,” ends the RSF’s occupation of various regions, and ensures the “dignity of the people and the sovereignty of the state.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera from New York, al-Burhan said Khartoum had told the United States it would not accept mediation from “any regional or international powers that participated in the killing of Sudanese people”.
He said Sudan would continue to talk to the Americans but that if they were “serious about supporting peace in Sudan, let them support national solutions”.
Al-Burhan met with several U.S. administration officials on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, but neither side issued a statement.
Sudan previously refused to participate in meetings on the humanitarian situation in Sudan in Geneva in August after the U.S. administration insisted on the United Arab Emirates’ participation as an observer.
During a press conference in New York, al-Burhan explicitly accused the UAE of transferring weapons and equipment to the RSF.
The UAE denies these allegations, stating that it only provides humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people through international agencies and established hospitals in refugee camps in Chad.