Sudan’s military ruler, General Abdul Fattah Burhan, said on Tuesday that Britain must apologize for what he labeled as “colonial crimes” committed during British rule of the North African nation.
Burhan vowed to preserve the unity of the military establishment in Sudan and warned against attempts to spread sedition among the country’s armed forces.
He made his remarks during a speech marking the 124th anniversary of the 1898 Battle of Omdurman.
In Sudan the battle is known as the Battle of Kerreri, after the village west of Omdurman where it took place.
“What the colonizer’s army did was a crime against humanity. Perpetrators deserve to be held accountable,” said Burhan, adding that British soldiers had continued to kill and commit horrific crimes for four days after the battle had ended.
Sudan’s ousted president, Omar al-Bashir, had also demanded in April 2008 that Britain and Western countries apologize to the African peoples for the massacres they committed in Sudan, Algeria, and other countries.
Bashir also demanded that the UK and Western countries return wealth they looted from African nations.
Burhan denounced “the silence about the demand for retribution for the Kerreri martyrs.”
He called on Britain to provide compensation for “the families of the martyrs and the Sudanese people who were deliberately killed.”
“What happened amounts to genocide and ethnic cleansing," he stressed.
Burhan accused unnamed parties of seeking to eliminate the Sudanese state, by provoking tribal fighting and regional wars and questioning the leadership of the army.
“No one will be able to dismantle the military institution, and it will remain cohesive and strong with its unity,” affirmed Burhan.
“The military institution's exit from politics does not mean that it will allow others to do what they want in it,” he stressed.
