War in Sudan will end soon, Al Burhan tells UN conference in Cairo

Army chief's visit to Cairo comes one day after he replaced his foreign minister

Sudanese Armed Forces chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, right, is in Egypt for talks. Photo: Sudan's Sovereign Council

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan told a UN conference on Monday that he expected the 18-month war in his country to end soon “at the hands of the Sudanese people and their armed forces”.

Addressing the inaugural session in Cairo of the World Urban Forum, Gen Al Burhan said he expected the international community to step in and rebuild Sudan when the war between the army and the powerful paramilitary the Rapid Support Forces ends.

“I hope this [international reconstruction effort] will happen soon during the postwar stage that, as I mentioned before, will be soon, God willing,” he said after he accused the RSF of being a terrorist group that has committed crimes against humanity and war crimes during the war.

Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, three million of whom fled the country, since the war in Sudan broke out in April 2023. Additionally, the war has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with an estimated 25 million – more than half of Sudan's population – facing acute hunger.

Both the army and the RSF are accused by the UN of committing war crimes.

Gen Al Burhan's visit to Egypt coincides with an army offensive to reverse losses to the RSF in the war's early days, with troops now making battlefield gains in parts of Khartoum, the capital, and Al Jazira region to the south of the capital.

Egypt, Sudan's traditional ally and powerful northern neighbour has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Sudan, where the army insists the civil war can end only if the RSF surrenders and lays down its arms.

Gen Al Burhan and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi met on Monday on the sidelines of the UN conference, according to a statement by the Egyptian leader's office.

"The President emphasised during the meeting Egypt's continuing support on all levels to brotherly Sudan so that it pulls through the crisis it is experiencing," said the statement.

Gen Al Burhan's visit to Egypt also comes a day after his office announced he had appointed a new acting foreign minister, replacing Hussein Awad Ali with career diplomat Ali Youssef Ahmed.

The army leader has also appointed three acting ministers for the portfolios of information, commerce and Awqaf (Islamic endowments).

Sudan has had no government since Gen Al Burhan and ally-turned-enemy Gen Mohamed Dagalo, the RSF's commander, seized power in a coup in October 2021, toppling a civilian-led administration and derailing the country's democratic transition after the dictator Omar Al Bashir was deposed in April 2019 after 29 years in office.

Sudan has since been run by military-backed caretaker ministers, with Gen Al Burhan as de facto head of state. The war between the army and the RSF broke out in April last year when months of tension over their future mandate in a democratic Sudan boiled over.