After the announcement of the “Meeting between Hemedti and Al-Burhan”… the two sides of the conflict in Sudan reveal the truth

The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces questioned the announcement by regional mediators of the parties’ commitment to a ceasefire and to entering into a political dialogue.

The Inter-Governmental Authority for the Development of East African Countries (IGAD), the United States and Saudi Arabia sought to mediate an end to the conflict that has been raging between the two parties for eight months, which has claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people, displaced more than 6.5 million and caused severe damage to the country’s economy.

IGAD said on Sunday that the Army Commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”, agreed to meet for the first time since the outbreak of fighting between them eight months ago, and to propose an unconditional ceasefire.

But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which supports the army’s position, said in a statement on Sunday that it did not recognize the IGAD statement because it did not include the observations it had provided, especially since the meeting with Hemedti was conditional on a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces from the capital, Khartoum.

Meanwhile, the RSF said its acceptance of the meeting was conditional on Al-Burhan not attending in his capacity as head of the ruling Sovereignty Council, a position he has held since 2019 when the army and the RSF united to oust former President Omar al-Bashir.

The army, which views the war as an RSF mutiny, is unlikely to accept such a condition.

Talks brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States ended earlier this month without any progress on previously agreed-upon confidence-building measures or a ceasefire.

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces cooperated to overthrow former President Omar al-Bashir in 2019, and carried out a coup in 2021, but conflict broke out between them in April due to a dispute over a plan for a new transitional phase.

The conflict caused the deaths of more than ten thousand, and the displacement of more than 6.5 million people inside and outside Sudan, according to United Nations estimates.