Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has met with Qatar's emir in his third trip abroad since war broke out between his country's rival military factions in April. Burhan, who in recent days also visited Egypt and South Sudan, is seeking to drum up diplomatic support and legitimacy for his rule.
Burhan's troops are fighting the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He's spent months under siege inside the military headquarters in Khartoum, remaining in Sudan until late August.
Following visits to Egypt and South Sudan, Burhan received a red carpet welcome in Doha this week, where he reportedly discussed "the challenges facing Sudan" with the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
According to the Qatar News Agency, Burhan left the Qatari capital on Thursday.
The war between Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has resulted in the death of at least 5,000 people, according to an estimate from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.
Since the start of the fighting in #Sudan, ACLED has recorded hundreds of conflict incidents around the country, with more than 1,800 reported fatalities. Two-thirds of the clashes have taken place in cities of over 100,000 people.https://t.co/bIyHf8lvGM
— Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (@ACLEDINFO) June 2, 2023
Human rights abuses
Late on Wednesday, Burhan issued a decree dissolving the RSF, while the United States slapped sanctions on senior commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, the brother of the paramilitary leader.
The Transitional Sovereignty Council, headed by Burhan, said the decree was "based on the repercussions of these forces' rebellion against the state, the grave violations they committed against citizens, and the deliberate sabotage of the country's infrastructure".
Human rights campaigners have accused the RSF and allied Arab janjaweed militias of atrocities including rape, looting and mass killings of ethnic minorities, primarily in the ethnically mixed Darfur region.
The army has also been accused of abuses, including the indiscriminate bombing of residential areas where the RSF have a presence.
Burhan made his first foray outside army headquarters last month and has visited regional allies in recent weeks.
Since leaving the capital Khartoum, he has been based in Port Sudan, an eastern city that has been largely spared the fighting.
Government officials and the United Nations have similarly relocated operations to the coastal city which hosts Sudan's only functioning airport.
Quest for legitimacy
In late August, as rumours swirled of negotiations aimed at ending the crisis, Burhan flew to Egypt, historically his closest ally, followed by a visit to South Sudan earlier this week.
According to Ashraf Abdulaziz, editor-in-chief of independent Sudanese daily Al-Jarida,"The significance of [the trips abroad] is to confirm the legitimacy of Burhan with the international community."
Both Cairo and Juba have sought to mobilise regional and international efforts to end the nearly five-month conflict, after mediation attempts in the early stages of the war repeatedly floundered.
Multiple truces brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia were systematically violated, before the two mediators adjourned talks in June.
Burhan has taken issue with the mediation efforts of the East African trade bloc IGAD, accusing its current coordinator Kenya of giving a platform to Daglo in its bid to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table.
Executive Secretary @DrWorkneh at the #IGAD Quartet Meeting on #Sudan with President @IsmailOguelleh of #Djibouti & IGAD Chair, President @WilliamsRuto of #Kenya, President Salva Kiir of #SouthSudan, Chair of the @_AfricanUnion Commission @AUC_MoussaFaki, & Minister of Defense… pic.twitter.com/YMaj4YPGhm
— IGAD Secretariat (@igadsecretariat) September 6, 2023
IGAD mediation rejected
Last month, Burhan's government boycotted IGAD peace talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, demanding that Kenya be replaced.
On Thursday, the Burhan-run foreign ministry went further, threatening to review Sudan's membership of the bloc if Kenya remained its lead negotiator.
"If IGAD fails to heed our demand for a change of chairman [of its negotiating quartet] ... the Sudanese government will review the relevance of its membership of this organisation," it said in a statement.
Announcing sanctions on Wednesday, the US Treasury said that under Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, RSF fighters "have engaged in acts of violence and human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, ethnic killings and use of sexual violence".
Many of the abuses took place in Darfur, it added.
Daglo called the sanctions against him "unfair" in comments Thursday to Sky News Arabia, a TV channel based in the United Arab Emirates, which observers say is close to the RSF.
The US State Department also placed the RSF's West Darfur commander Abdul Rahman Juma on its blacklist for what Washington called "his involvement in a gross violation of human rights".
As well as leaving thousands dead since 15 April, the war has also forced 4.8 million people from their homes – one million of whom have crossed borders – according to the United Nations.
(with newswires)
