Meeting Between Burhan, Hemedi Expected to Lead to Sudan Ceasefire

Army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. (AFP)
Army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. (AFP)
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Meeting Between Burhan, Hemedi Expected to Lead to Sudan Ceasefire

Army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. (AFP)
Army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. (AFP)

Sudanese army commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Daglo, commander of Rapid Support Forces (RSF), are expected to meet in the coming days in a regional capital, according to sources.

Addressing officers at a military base in the Red Sea, Burhan announced Thursday that he had agreed to engage in negotiations to resolve Sudan’s monthslong conflict.

He expressed readiness to negotiate with the “militia” - a reference to the RSF. He added that he rejects any peace deal that humiliates the armed forces and Sudanese people.

Moreover, Burhan stressed that his forces would remain united and strong.

He further pledged to hold accountable the “cancer of the RSF” and every accomplice that led to the RSF’s capture of Wad Madani.

Several reports, including a one by Asharq TV, said Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq handed a written letter to the Prime Minister of Djibouti and the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) that Burhan is willing to meet Hemedti under certain conditions.

IGAD had suggested a meeting between the two generals, but Burhan refused.

On December 9, IGAD held a summit during which it was announced that the two men would meet to sign a ceasefire agreement and return to dialogue.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that tireless efforts have led to the agreement over the meeting.

On the ground, clashes between the army and RSF erupted on Saturday in the southern villages of the Gezira state, central Sudan.

The Arab World Press quoted eyewitnesses as saying that army warplanes raided the RSF to prevent their progress in Sennar.

They added that the displacement continues from Wad Madani and the villages of Gezira state to the states of Sennar in the southeast and Gedaref, Kassala, and Port Sudan, in the east of the country.



Pope Speaks Against Forced Mass Displacement of Gaza Civilians

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
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Pope Speaks Against Forced Mass Displacement of Gaza Civilians

Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Pope Leo, whose role in advocating for peace in Gaza has become notably stark since Israel struck the territory's only Catholic church last week, told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday that he opposed any forced displacement of Palestinians.

The Vatican said Abbas, who leads the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, had phoned the pope on Monday, three days after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called and expressed regret over the strike on Gaza's Holy Family church.

Israel has said the strike, which killed three people and wounded the church's parish priest, was a mistake, Reuters reported.

The small church in Gaza has been a focus of papal advocacy for peace throughout the war in the territory. Pope Leo's predecessor Pope Francis spoke to the parish nightly.

In Monday's conversation with Abbas, Leo condemned the "indiscriminate use of force" and any "forced mass displacement" of people in the Gaza Strip, the Vatican said.

Israel has said it wants Gazans to move to a special humanitarian zone in Gaza or leave the territory voluntarily. All mainstream Palestinian groups and neighbouring Arab states have rejected any plan that would displace them.

In emotional remarks on Sunday after his weekly Angelus prayer, Leo read out the names of those killed at the church in Gaza and called for an end to the "barbarity of war".