ALBAWABA - In a statement released earlier, Sudanese army chief and head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council of Sudan Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said in a statement that "we don’t need" the African Union to resolve the country’s nearly five-month war.
The diplomatic tension has risen following the meeting between Moussa Faki Mahamat, the head of the African Union Commission, and a political adviser to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
"The African Union is not allowed to interfere in our internal affairs. We do not reject peace, and our view is that it (peace) will come after getting rid of anyone who tries to form another army, attack others, and seek control of the state through illegitimate means" al-Burhan said in a speech delivered in Ed Damazin, the capital of the Blue Nile region.
According to a Friday report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project, the merciless war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has killed at least 7,500 people and counting.
ACLED as well as activists and aid groups on the ground have repeatedly warned that casualty figures out of Sudan are underreported as fighting hampers access to many areas and the warring sides do not disclose deaths among their ranks, Arab News reported.
The Sudanese government has asked the African Union to withdraw sanctions imposed following the coup that ousted the civilian administration on October 25, 2021. Sudan, on the other hand, has asked IGAD to take over Kenya's chairmanship of the quartet group in order to resolve the Sudanese issue.
The Minister of Health in Khartoum stated on Thursday that at least 180 health facilities and hospitals have gone out of service in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
War Aftermath
The power struggle, which erupted on April 15, pitted Sudanese Military General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy chairman Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo "Hemedti" over who would settle in the leading position in the country.
Thousands of people have been killed and nearly 4 million have been displaced since the combat began on April 15 between the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces, primarily in Khartoum and Darfur state.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 60 people were killed and 250 were injured in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. Furthermore, at least 50,000 people have fled their homes, and humanitarian aid distribution has been hampered by road closures in many locations.
