Sudan’s Burhan: No Return to Negotiations Until RSF is Defeated

Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)
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Sudan’s Burhan: No Return to Negotiations Until RSF is Defeated

Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)
Smoke rises near Khartoum International Airport, adjacent to the Army General Command headquarters (File photo - Reuters)

Fierce battles between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have continued in southern Khartoum, as the army sought to reclaim the strategic Jebel Aulia Dam Bridge, aiming to cut off RSF’s supply routes.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, reiterated on Tuesday his rejection of negotiations through the Jeddah peace platform until the RSF is completely eliminated.

Speaking at a memorial for fallen soldiers, Burhan declared: “There will be no negotiations or return to Jeddah until the terrorist militia—meaning RSF—is defeated and fully disarmed.”

He reaffirmed the army’s commitment to “purging the country of rebels and restoring security, stability, and peace.”

Reports indicate intense clashes between the SAF and RSF near Al-Qutaynah, White Nile State, and the southern borders of Khartoum State. The army is advancing on Jebel Aulia Dam Bridge from multiple fronts to sever the RSF’s last remaining supply line.

The bridge, located 40 km south of Khartoum, serves as RSF’s sole remaining supply route across the White Nile River, linking their forces in Khartoum (east bank) with those in Omdurman (west bank) and connecting White Nile, Kordofan, and Darfur regions. It is a critical logistical corridor for the RSF.

The Sudanese army has recently regained key areas in Khartoum State, including Bahri, eastern Khartoum, and several bridgeheads, significantly improving its strategic position.

In a related move, Lieutenant General Yasser Al-Atta, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the SAF, instructed government security agencies to resume normal operations across Khartoum State within 48 hours, following the army’s recapture of key areas from the RSF.

According to state news agency SUNA, the Khartoum State Security Committee, chaired by Governor Ahmed Osman Hamza, held a meeting with senior military and intelligence officials to restore law and order, combat crime, and ensure civilian safety.

In El Fasher, North Darfur, the army reported destroying 47 RSF combat vehicles, including troop carriers and supply trucks, while downing more than 100 RSF drones.

The RSF has besieged El Fasher for months, triggering intense battles that have displaced nearly half a million civilians to Tawila, Jebel Marra, and northern Sudan.

The 6th Infantry Division in El Fasher confirmed in a statement that it inflicted heavy losses on the RSF, using ground defenses to repel drone attacks and neutralize enemy reinforcements.



Israel Pounds Gaza City after Offensive Gets Green Light

A man carrying a child runs as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, August 21, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/Handout via REUTERS
A man carrying a child runs as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, August 21, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/Handout via REUTERS
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Israel Pounds Gaza City after Offensive Gets Green Light

A man carrying a child runs as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, August 21, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/Handout via REUTERS
A man carrying a child runs as smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, August 21, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/Handout via REUTERS

Israel hammered Gaza City and its outskirts overnight, residents said Thursday, after the defense ministry approved an expanded offensive to target the remaining Hamas strongholds in the strip.

The newly approved plan authorizes the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists, deepening fears the campaign will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.

"We are not waiting. We have begun the preliminary actions, and already now, IDF (army) troops are holding the outskirts of Gaza City," the Israeli military said in a statement, according to AFP.

Israel's plans to expand the fighting and take control of Gaza City have sparked international outcry as well as domestic opposition.

Ahead of the offensive, the Israeli military said the call-up of the reservists would begin in early September.

Gaza City residents described relentless bombardments overnight.

"The house shakes with us all night long -- the sound of explosions, artillery, warplanes, ambulances, and cries for help is killing us," one of them, Ahmad al-Shanti, told AFP.

"The sound is getting closer, but where would we go?".

Another resident, Amal Abdel-Aal, said she watched the heavy strikes on the area, a week after being displaced from her home in Gaza City's Al-Sabra neighborhood.

"No one in Gaza has slept -- not last night, not for a week. The artillery and air strikes in the east never stop. The sky flashes all night long," she added.

Gaza civil defense agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said air strikes and artillery fire overnight targeted areas to the northwest and southeast of Gaza City.

Late Thursday, the Israeli military detailed a range of operations across the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.

It said the maneuvers and strikes "created the conditions" for the military to intensify pressure on Hamas and lay the groundwork for the next stages of the campaign.