KHARTOUM – Sudan’s army chief and Transitional Sovereign Council Chairman Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are fighting “rebels,” not tribes or ethnic communities, stressing that the military campaign is directed against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rather than any particular social group.
Speaking during celebrations marking the 72nd anniversary of Sudan’s Armed Forces, Al-Burhan described the conflict as a battle to preserve the Sudanese state, saying the military would continue its operations until what he called the rebellion is defeated.
“We are not fighting tribes or specific communities; we are fighting the rebels,” Al-Burhan said, accusing the RSF of committing violations and crimes against Sudanese civilians.
His remarks come as the conflict continues to deepen tribal and regional tensions in several parts of Sudan, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan, where both sides have repeatedly denied targeting specific ethnic communities while accusing each other of mobilizing support along tribal lines.
Al-Burhan also urged tribal chiefs and community leaders in areas under RSF control not to respond to what he described as recruitment efforts by Abdel Rahim Dagalo, calling on them to prevent young people from joining the fighting.
The war between the SAF and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has triggered one of the world’s largest displacement crises and has been accompanied by repeated allegations of ethnically motivated violence, particularly in Darfur. Both sides have denied responsibility for many of the alleged violations.
Al-Burhan reiterated his rejection of foreign interference in the conflict, describing the war as a national struggle to protect Sudan’s sovereignty and state institutions.
