Sudan army chief rejects talks with rebels
Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has reiterated his rejection of negotiations with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), vowing to continue the military campaign against the group.
Burhan, who also chairs Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, made the remarks on Tuesday during a visit to the Amri area in the country’s Northern State.
“We say it again: We have no negotiations with anyone, we are not speaking with anyone, and we have nothing to do with anyone,” Burhan said, according to the Sudan Tribune.
The army chief also reiterated the military’s intention to continue its campaign against the RSF. “We tell the rebels among you that we are coming to you with force,” he said. “We want to uproot the enemy and eliminate it completely.”
The remarks came as fighting continues between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF in Darfur, Kordofan, and Blue Nile. Much of Darfur remains under RSF control, while the army has been seeking to advance into the region.
Burhan has repeatedly rejected negotiations with the RSF during the conflict. In May 2024, he said, “there will be no negotiations, no peace, and no ceasefire” until the RSF was defeated. In April this year, he again ruled out talks with the paramilitary group or its supporters.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April 2023 following months of tensions between the SAF and the RSF.
Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The conflict followed months of tension between their commanders, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands, displacing millions, and pushing parts of Sudan into famine.
Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi-US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. In September 2025, the Quad group – the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – proposed a three-month humanitarian truce leading to a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led political transition. Burhan rejected a subsequent US-led proposal that November, arguing it would dismantle state security institutions while leaving the RSF in place. The paramilitaries said they accepted the truce.
The UAE’s involvement has deepened mistrust of mediation. Sudan’s army-backed government severed diplomatic ties with Abu Dhabi in May 2025, accusing it of supporting the RSF. The UAE denies supplying weapons to the paramilitaries. Relations with Washington deteriorated further in September 2026 after the US questioned both factions’ legitimacy. Sudan rejected the remarks and called for peace efforts free from foreign dictates.
Meanwhile, rival administrations have entrenched Sudan’s divisions. Burhan’s government returned to Khartoum in January 2026 after the army recaptured the capital, having operated from Port Sudan during the fighting. In July 2025, the RSF-aligned TASIS coalition announced a rival government based in Nyala, Darfur, with Dagalo heading its governing council. The UN Security Council and African Union rejected the move.
On Sunday, US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos met with Burhan in Egypt. “The United States stands ready to support all efforts leading to a comprehensive dialogue among the Sudanese political forces, leading to a preliminary road map of the future of the Sudan,” Boulos said. The meeting, however, followed a dispute over Burhan’s planned trip to the UN General Assembly in New York last month, when the US did not issue him an entry visa. Foreign Minister Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim had to address the gathering on his behalf.
In his address, Salim called for international pressure on foreign parties supporting the RSF, saying peace would require the paramilitary group to be disarmed and weapons to remain under the control of state institutions.
