UPDATE – Sudan’s army chief visits Eritrea to discuss conflict

UPDATES WITH DETAILS, REVISES HEADLINE, EDITS THROUGH

By Buhram Abdel-Menem

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Sudan’s army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan held talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday during an official visit to the Horn of Africa country.

The talks between the two sides took up bilateral relations and ways of boosting them, Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council said in a statement.

The Sudanese general’s visit to Eritrea was his 4th foreign trips since clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group first erupted in April. He had earlier visited Egypt, South Sudan and Qatar.

In statements after returning to Khartoum, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq hailed Eritrean support for Sudan in regional and international arenas.

He said the army chief’s talks in Eritrea focused on initiatives to address the Sudanese conflict and ways of restoring peace and stability to the war-torn country.

Al-Burhan’s visit to Asmara underlined Eritrea's support to Sudan’s territorial integrity, he added.

More than 3,000 civilians have been killed and thousands injured since the outbreak of violence in April, according to local medics.

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

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar