Burhan Warns Sudan Will Be Fragmented If Deadly Conflict Is Not Resolved

A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)
A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)
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Burhan Warns Sudan Will Be Fragmented If Deadly Conflict Is Not Resolved

A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)
A handout image posted on the Sudanese Armed Forces' Facebook page on August 31, 2023, shows army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gesturing as he walks among other army members during a tour of a neighborhood in Port Sudan, in the Red Sea state. (Sudanese Army / AFP)

The head of Sudan’s army warned Thursday that the northeast African country will be divided if the conflict between the military and rival paramilitary force is not resolved.

Sudan was plunged into chaos after monthslong tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting on April 15.

“We are facing a war, and if it is not resolved quickly Sudan will be fragmented,” Burhan said in a speech addressed to the country's police force in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.

Burhan’s remarks echo those he made in Egypt on Tuesday, the general's first trip abroad since the conflict broke out. During the visit, Burhan met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and discussed ways to end the fighting. But neither gave any details about any potential initiatives or terms.

However, during a separate speech on Monday, Burhan ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF, vowing that his forces will defeat the paramilitary.

The nearly five-month conflict has reduced the capital, Khartoum, to an urban battlefield, with neither side managing to gain control of the city. In the western Darfur region -- the scene of genocidal campaign in the early 2000s -- the conflict has morphed into ethnic violence, with militias attacking ethnic African groups, according to rights groups and the United Nations.

Last month, Sisi hosted a meeting of Sudan’s neighbors and announced a broad plan for a ceasefire. All previous ceasefires brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia foundered.

Last week Burhan managed to leave Sudan’s besieged military headquarters in Khartoum, where he has purportedly been stationed since April. He later traveled to Port Sudan, which is controlled by the army.

The fighting is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to the UN human rights office, though activists and doctors on the ground say the toll is likely far higher.

More than 4.6 million people have been displaced, according to the UN migration agency. Those include over 3.6 million who fled to safer areas inside Sudan and more than 1 million others who crossed into neighboring countries.



Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinian authorities said Israeli troops killed a 55-year-old man in the north of the occupied West Bank on Thursday -- an incident the Israeli army said involved a stabbing attack.

The Ramallah-based health ministry said the body in charge of coordination with Israel informed it that soldiers "shot and killed" the man in Rummanah, near Jenin, in the morning.

The Israeli military said separately that troops deployed in the village "neutralised" a man after he stabbed and "moderately injured" a soldier, AFP reported.

The army generally uses the term "neutralised" after killing someone.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday of wounds suffered during an army raid near the West Bank town of Nablus last week, the health ministry said.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 951 Palestinians, including many militants, the ministry said.

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Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.