South Sudan reports that Al Burhan is willing to hold talks with ‘Hemedti’ in Khartoum

26 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

South Sudan has reported this Wednesday that the head of the Sudanese Army and president of the Sovereign Transition Council, Abdelfatá al Burhan, would be willing to hold talks with the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias ‘ Hemedti’, for the end of hostilities between the parties.

The South Sudanese Foreign Minister, Deng Dau, reported on Wednesday that the country’s president, Salva Kiir, has been in contact with Al Burhan and ‘Hemedti’ since Tuesday to hold a possible meeting between the parties in Khartoum.

In an interview with Sky News Arabia, which was also reported by the ‘Sudan Ajbar’ newspaper, Deng reported that Kiir is ready to visit Khartoum at any time for the meeting. “Al Burhan agreed in principle to hold talks in Sudan while we try to contact ‘Hemidti’ and talk to him about this proposal,” Deng said.

The hostilities broke out in the context of an increase in tensions around the integration of the RSF –led by ‘Hemedti’, who is also vice president of the Sovereign Transition Council– within the Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and reactivate the transition.

The talks process began with international mediation after Al Burhan led a coup in October 2021 that overthrew the then unity prime minister, Abdalá Hamdok, appointed to the position as a result of contacts between civilians and the military after the riot of April 2019, which put an end to 30 years of the regime of Omar Hasan al Bashir.