©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man walks as smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in North Khartoum, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah
DUBAI (Reuters) – There will be no respite in Sudan during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan unless the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group leaves the homes and places of civilians, Sudanese Armed Forces General Yasser Al said on Sunday. -Atta.
The statement follows a call by the United Nations Security Council for a truce during Ramadan, which begins this week. The paramilitary RSF said it welcomed the call for a ceasefire.
Atta’s statement, released on the army’s official Telegram channel, cites the army’s recent military advances in Omdurman, part of Sudan’s larger capital.
He said there could be no Ramadan ceasefire unless the RSF fulfilled a commitment made in May last year during Saudi-US-brokered talks in Jeddah to withdraw from civilian homes and public facilities.
He also said there should be no role for Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader commonly known as Hemedti, in Sudan’s future politics or military.
War between Sudan’s army and the RSF erupted in mid-April 2023 amid tensions over a plan to transition to civilian rule. The two factions staged a coup in 2021 that derailed an earlier transition following the 2019 overthrow of former autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.
The Army was militarily challenged throughout much of the conflict. The RSF occupied large areas of the capital in the first days of fighting.
According to the United Nations, nearly 25 million people – half of Sudan’s population – are in need of aid, around 8 million have fled their homes and hunger is on the rise. Washington says the warring parties have committed war crimes.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also called for a Ramadan truce.
Sudan’s U.N. ambassador told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that army and government council chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan praised Guterres’ appeal but wondered how it could be implemented.
Sudan’s Foreign Ministry, which is aligned with the military, said that for any ceasefire call to be successful, the RSF would have to withdraw from areas including El Gezira and Sennar states and several towns in Darfur, stronghold of the RSF.