A meeting between Sudan’s army commander Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Daglo appears less and less likely in wake of the latest developments in the country.
The Sudanese people have pinned hopes that a direct meeting between them would help end the conflict between the military and RSF that erupted in mid-April.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) was expected to organize a meeting between the two leaders in December, but plans collapsed over “technical reasons”. Another meeting was set for early January, but the plans also fell through. Hopes faded after IGAD didn’t set a date for a new meeting.
Moreover, Burhan’s latest statements in which he set conditions for meeting his rival have only complicated efforts.
Speaking from the Gebeit military zone, Burhan declared that he would not sign any agreement or reconciliation with the RSF before “reclaiming Sudan” from the paramilitary force.
Burhan appears to be forging ahead with the war, especially after severely criticizing the meeting that was held last week between Hemedti and head of the leadership body of the Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces (Taqadum), former Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok in Addis Ababa.
Hemedti and Hamdok signed the “Addis Ababa Declaration” aimed at ending the war. The declaration agreed to a “unconditional” meeting between Hemedti and Burhan, but the RSF leader demanded that IGAD leaders be present at the talks.
The Sudanese foreign ministry also complicated efforts to hold a meeting when it demanded that the RSF fulfill the commitments it agreed to in the Jeddah Humanitarian Declaration, including withdrawing its forces from civilian regions.
A Sudanese military expert told Asharq Al-Awsat that the meeting between Hamdok and Hemedti raised tensions over a meeting between Bruhan and Hemedti.
Perhaps Burhan, as leader of the army, felt slighted that Hemedti met Hamdok first, he added on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, he said the army is coming under great pressure from its Islamist allies and supporters of the regime of ousted President Omar al-Bashir who oppose a meeting between Hemedti and Burhan. They would rather see the army continue the fight on the ground and achieve victory in the war.
Burhan may be waiting to achieve a military victory that would strengthen his negotiations position after it became compromised when the RSF swept through Wad Madani city, remarked the expert.
