Sudan's army chief says 'no reconciliation' with rival paramilitary RSF

By Adel Abdel-Rahim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - Sudan's army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said on Friday that there will not be reconciliation or a deal with his rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as war has been raging between them since April.

Al-Burhan, who is also the chairman of the Sudanese ruling Sovereignty Council, said in a speech delivered before his troops in Gebeit town, eastern the country, that RSF had committed "war crimes and crimes against humanity in West Darfur and the rest of Sudan."

"Thus, we have no reconciliation or agreement with them," he added.

He also stressed that RSF "doesn't seek the good for the country," and accused it of looting people's properties.

Al-Burhan welcomed dialogue with Sudanese politicians while urging them to distance themselves from RSF and its head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April, in a conflict that has killed 5,000 people and displaced more than 5.2 million, according to UN figures.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi Arabian and US mediators have failed to end the violence.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar