Burhan says he welcomes all initiatives to stop bloodshed, spare Sudan specter of civil war: Al-Qahera News

CAIRO – 8 May 2023: Chairman of the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said he welcomes all initiatives that would spare the blood of the Sudanese people and spare Sudan the specter of the civil war.

In TV remarks to Al-Qahera News on Monday, Burhan affirmed welcoming the ongoing initiative in Jeddah, affirming that the envoys dispatched to the Saudi city for talks include diplomats and represent Sudan rather than the Armed Forces only.

“We hope that this initiative lays down real foundations for stopping the fighting, which includes withdrawal from residential areas and service places and evacuating the homes of unarmed citizens from snipers and armed occupation,” Burhan stated.

He added that the ongoing talks seek to achieve ceasefire and reassure citizens, affirming that stability cannot be restored with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) elements on the roofs and inside the citizens’ homes.

The majority of banks have been robbed and the embassies, public service institutions, diplomatic missions of the African Union (AU) and UNICEF as well as the Red Crescent have been looted by the RSF, Burhan added.

“The main and outstanding issue is the spread of the criminal elements of the RSF across residential areas,” Burhan said, affirming that their exit from residential and service is the basis for a ceasefire.

Burhan said he seeks through the implemented truces to open humanitarian corridors. However, a ceasefire cannot be achieved unless the RSF elements withdraw from Khartoum.

He slammed the RSF’s acts as “treacherous,” saying they “stabbed the Sudanese people in the back.”

Burhan affirmed that the treacherous acts committed by the RSF are behind all the tragedies that the Sudanese people are currently experiencing.

Sudan has been mired in an armed conflict between its armed forces and the paramilitary RSF since mid-April, which caused tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee the country amid rise in casualties.

The Sudanese army has sent a delegation to Jeddah to discuss ceasefire as part of a joint initiative by Saudi Arabia and the United States.