Sudanese Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is also the head of the Sovereignty Council, confirmed on Sunday that the only way to stop the war is for the Rapid Support Forces to withdraw from the Gezira State and other Sudanese cities. In a televised speech, he stated that the armed forces support negotiation efforts and are exploring ways to end the eight-and-a-half-month-long war, backing calls for a resolution to the crisis.
These statements come as clashes and shelling between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces in eastern Gezira State, in central Sudan, and around the ‘Hantoub’ bridge, which connects the east and west of Wad Madani (the state capital), continued for the third consecutive day. The renewed fighting after a brief lull in the early hours of Sunday has increased tension and concern among the residents of Wad Madani. Sounds of shelling were heard east of the city in the morning, while markets and service institutions closed, and many residents fled in search of safe havens.
Wad Madani had been a safe haven before the clashes reached it, sheltering citizens who fled from Khartoum to escape the fighting that broke out in the capital in mid-April between the army and Rapid Support Forces.
Control over Gezira and Four States in Darfur. It is noteworthy that the Rapid Support Forces had taken control of Gezira State a few days ago following the army’s withdrawal and have tightened their grip over four of the five states in the Darfur region in western Sudan, including army divisions and headquarters, as well as large parts of Khartoum and the Kordofan region.
The fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces erupted in April following weeks of tension between the two sides over disagreements regarding plans to integrate the Rapid Support Forces into the army, at a time when military and civilian parties were finalizing a globally supported political process.
