Sudan’s army chief said on Friday morning that the military under his leadership was committed to a peaceful transition to civilian rule, in his first public remarks since a weeklong conflict between his troops and a powerful paramilitary force upended life in Africa’s third-largest nation.
But the army commander, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is Sudan’s de facto leader, did not say whether the army would commit to the latest cease-fire that its rival, the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, said it had agreed to on Friday. The cease-fire would allow people to gather for the Eid holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
General al-Burhan said the clashes had led to serious casualties, major destruction of property and displacement of families across the country.
The fighting “has left no room for the joy that our people deserve,” he said, referring to the Eid holiday, adding, “We are confident that we will overcome this ordeal with training, wisdom and strength, in a way that preserves the security and unity of the country and enables us to transition to civilian rule.”
Although international pressure has been mounting for a cease-fire to mark the Eid celebrations, General al-Burhan was noncommittal about whether his forces would adhere to one on Friday or in the coming days. Instead, he said, “Your armed forces are advancing to defeat the rebels.”
Just an hour before, the Rapid Support Forces said that after discussions with global and local organizations, it had agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian truce starting at 6 a.m. local time. The cease-fire, it said, would allow for families to meet during the holiday and evacuate their loved ones, and let people get food and medical care.
But in the hours since, residents in several neighborhoods of Khartoum, the capital, have reported intense gunfights in the streets. The clashes followed a similar pattern in recent days, in which calls for and agreements to cease-fires quickly collapsed.
It was not immediately clear which of the two warring military generals was in control of Sudan on Friday morning, even as countries including the United States prepared to evacuate their citizens from the northeast African nation.