Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council and army commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan announced that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were implicated in the violent dispersal of civil sit-ins at the General Command four years ago.
Burhan’s statement created controversy in political circles and on social media as it was the first time he had addressed the incident that left hundreds of civilians dead and injured.
Meanwhile, the RSF captured a city in the Kordofan region, announcing in a statement on the X platform that they had seized the Wad Ashana Garrison in North Kordofan State from an extremist militia linked to the army and loyalists from the ousted regime.
The garrison was the last remaining border outpost with White Nile State.
The RSF confiscated 12 fully equipped combat vehicles during the operation, including a 12-barrel Katyusha rocket launcher and numerous other weapons and ammunition.
The capture of the Wad Ashana Garrison provides a further strategic advantage to the RSF. It opens the path to progress toward Kosti in the White Nile and other areas.
“This achievement is instrumental in our mission to neutralize the former regime and its extremist affiliates,” it said.
Ending the war
Meanwhile, Burhan toured northern cities on Sunday, starting with Dongola, the capital of North State, where he checked on military operation casualties and patients undergoing kidney dialysis at the military hospital.
He met military leaders, artillery officers, and state government officials, stressing that the armed forces are committed to ending the war peacefully or through continued conflict.
He stated that the eruption of the war on April 15 was driven by the personal ambitions of certain individuals who want to seize control of the state – a possible reference to RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo and his brother Abdul Rahim.
Burhan highlighted serious RSF violations against citizens, including theft, property damage, widespread destruction, and destruction of state institutions and infrastructure.
The chairman denounced the deceptive and false narrative promoted by the RSF, confirming its involvement in the dispersal of the sit-ins at the General Command and their oppression of the protesters.
In June 2019, forces in military and civilian attire violently attacked thousands of protesters in front of the army headquarters in central Khartoum, resulting in numerous civilian casualties without intervention from the army to protect them.
Resigned Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok had formed an independent committee to investigate the unrest, with several current high-ranking army officials and the commander of the RSF called to testify.
However, the military coup, staged by the army and RSF on October 25, 2021, which overthrew the transitional government, hindered the probe.
