Sudan’s de facto ruler, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has said his government would not join peace talks in Switzerland, saying the military would “fight for 100 years” if necessary to defeat the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Burhan, who leads the governing Transitional Sovereignty Council, told reporters in Port Sudan on Saturday that the talks aim to “whitewash” the RSF and countries that support the paramilitaries.
“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.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates also acted as mediators in the talks, which aimed to secure more aid as Sudanese civilians face famine, mass displacement and disease.
While an RSF delegation showed up, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Burhan, were unhappy with the format and did not attend. But they were in telephone contact 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.
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