Sudan's Army Chief: We Will Fight Until the Militia is Gone

Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Sudanese Sovereignty Council)
Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Sudanese Sovereignty Council)
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Sudan's Army Chief: We Will Fight Until the Militia is Gone

Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Sudanese Sovereignty Council)
Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (Sudanese Sovereignty Council)

Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan unequivocally dismissed an agreement signed between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and associated political groups, vowing to continue the war that has been going on for nine months.

In a speech delivered to forces in Jebit in eastern Sudan, Burhan stressed that there is no room for reconciliation or agreement with the RSF, indicating that the army is continuing its battle to recover all of Sudan.

"We have no reconciliation with them. We have no agreement with them," he said. "Our battle continues until every site in Sudan is restored."

Burhan stated that the RSF committed "war crimes," vowing that the army would deal with them "in the field."

"We will fight until the enemy is gone."

The army chief called for arming citizens to defend themselves, advocating for them to acquire weapons or enlist in the armed forces.

He regretted that some politicians are praising RSF Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as "Hemedti," despite all the murders he has committed, criticizing neighboring countries that welcomed him.

Dagalo is on a tour across Africa with stops in South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned its ambassadors in Kampala and Nairobi to protest the formal receptions offered to the RSF commander.

According to a statement by the Foreign Minister-designate, Ali al-Sadiq, the Ministry summoned its ambassadors for "consultations" in response to the official welcome extended to the "militia" leader.

Hemedti's tour will extend to other African and Arab countries, and some unconfirmed reports suggest he will visit Egypt, among other Arab and regional states.



Over 100 Patients to Be Evacuated from Gaza, WHO Says

 A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Over 100 Patients to Be Evacuated from Gaza, WHO Says

 A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A youth salvages items from the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 5, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

More than 100 patients including children will be transferred out of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in a rare medical evacuation from the Palestinian enclave during the Israel-Hamas war, a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

The WHO says fewer than 300 patients have been evacuated from Gaza since early May, when Israel expanded its military offensive southwards and took over the southern Rafah Crossing with Egypt, which had been used for medical transfers.

Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the patients, including children with trauma injuries and chronic diseases, would depart in a large convoy via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

Under arrangements made by the WHO, the patients will then fly to the United Arab Emirates from Ramon Airport in southern Israel, and some will travel on to Romania, he said.

"These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza," Peeperkorn told a press conference.

Asked whether Israel had approved the transfer, he said he was hopeful it would be facilitated by Israeli authorities.

He said more than 12,000 people were awaiting transfer, adding: "We cannot continue the way we do now."

COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for Palestinian affairs, says it actively facilitates the departure of seriously ill or injured patients, adding that the scope of such evacuations was determined by the capacity of organizations and countries to receive them.

As of last week, it said 10 groups of patients had been evacuated through Israel and it was willing to coordinate more.

Peeperkorn was part of a WHO convoy that on Nov. 3 provided some relief for the busy al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza which he said were barely operational because of medical and staff shortages.

"For al-Awda we are very concerned because the hospital needs urgent fuel and medical supplies, otherwise it might become non-functional over the coming week," he said of the hospital in Jabalia, just north of Gaza City.

Israel accuses Hamas fighters of hiding among civilians, including in hospitals, in the war that began after the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023.

In a night-time raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital last month, an Israeli military official said around 100 Hamas fighters were captured, some posing as medical staff, along with weapons. Hamas rejected the accusations.