Sudan’s military leader rules out pre-conflict reconciliation with paramilitary RSF

Any return to the pre-conflict status with the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is off the table, Sudan’s Sovereign Council leader said during the country’s 69th independence anniversary, ruling out the paramilitary group’s reintegration into Sudanese society.
Calling the RSF “murderers and criminals”, Al-Burhan blamed the militia for the widespread violence, starvation, and displacement faced by Sudanese citizens, stressing that the situation could not go back to what it was before the outbreak of conflict. “There is no going back to the situation before 15 April 2023, nor can we accept the presence of these criminals among Sudanese people,” he said in a televised address aired on Sudanese state television on Tuesday (31 December).
The ruling Sovereign Council leader, however, expressed his willingness “to engage in any genuine initiative that ends the war and ensures the safe return” of civilians displaced by the war to their homes. Since the battle for power erupted in April 2023 between the two warring sides — Sudan’s military, led by al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — the humanitarian toll has been devastating, claiming nearly 25,000 lives and displacing over 10 million people, according to the United Nations. Mediation efforts led by countries like the United States and Saudi Arabia have not yet succeeded in securing a ceasefire, with both sides accusing each other of hindering peace talks.