The leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces said Sunday that its war with the army was not over, even after the paramilitary group was driven out of the capital last week. Both sides refuse negotiations.
In his first comments since the army pushed the RSF out of most parts of Khartoum last week, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on Sunday said the group would return "stronger, more powerful and victorious".
Dagalo, known as known as Hemedti, said in an audio message on Telegram that the RSF made a tactical decision to leave Khartoum, to “reposition in Omdurman”, Khartoum's twin city that the RSF had used previously to launch attacks.
The RSF still holds some territory in Omdurman, which is mostly controlled by the army, which on Saturday said it had taken control of Souq Libya, a major market in western Omdurman and one of the most important commercial hubs in Sudan.
Dagalo said there were no negotiations with the army, which he called a “diabolical movement”.
"We have neither agreement nor discussion with them,” he said. “Only the language of arms."
On Saturday army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan ruled out any reconciliation with the RSF, vowing to crush it.
"We will neither forgive, nor compromise, nor negotiate," he said, reaffirming the military's commitment to restoring national unity and stability.
The two-year power struggle between the army and the RSF, ahead of a return to civilian rule in Sudan, has destroyed much of Khartoum and uprooted more than 12 million people, and it has lead to what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with half the country suffering from acute hunger.
(with Reuters)
