Sudan’s generals reject negotiations as ceasefire fails

Warring generals in Sudan have rejected negotiations with each other, as fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues, despite repeated attempts at a ceasefire.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Thursday, the head of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Generals Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, said that he would not sit down and talk with his chief rival, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

“We are calling for a humanitarian truce and for a ceasefire for a specific period, but the other side does not want that,” Hemedti said in a phone call with Al Jazeera on Thursday. “But we are not talking about sitting down with a criminal. We have been negotiating [with al-Burhan] for two years, without any results.”

“Al-Burhan was the one who started the battles and he is the one responsible for murdering the Sudanese people, so there are no future negotiations with him,” he added.

Following the interview with Hemedti, al-Burhan also spoke to Al Jazeera, and said that there was no party “with whom we can sit down to negotiate with now”.

“This party [the RSF] vowed to eliminate the Sudanese army and the rule of Sudan, and it is now stealing the homes of the Sudanese, and this does not augur that it is a party that restores Sudan’s permanence.”

Both men spoke of the upcoming Eid holiday, with Hemedti saying that he had “no objection” to a truce over Eid, but claimed that the army had continued attacking his forces despite a ceasefire that was supposed to be observed from 16:00 GMT on Wednesday evening.