Al-Burhan: We Agreed on Army Withdrawal from El-Fashir and We Can Turn the Tables
Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan said on Monday that he agreed to withdraw the army from El-Fashir in North Darfur to spare the city from deliberate destruction by the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, affirming the ability to turn the tables and reclaim lands from what he described as traitors.
On Saturday, the RSF militia seized El-Fashir, where the army’s main command is located.
In an address to the Sudanese people, Al-Burhan said that “everyone is following what happened in El-Fashir. The leadership there, including the Security Committee, determined that they must leave the city due to the systematic destruction it has suffered and the systematic killing of civilians.”
He explained that he agreed to this decision to protect the remaining citizens and spare the city more devastation.
Al-Burhan stated that the army and its allies are capable “of achieving victory after victory, and these are experiences we have lived through recently in this war. We can turn the tables every time and restore every inch of land defiled by those traitors back to the homeland.”
During Saturday and Sunday, RSF forces committed widespread violations, including the execution of soldiers, shooting them in the back, and detaining civilians, including journalist Muammar Ibrahim.
Al-Burhan reaffirmed his determination to liberate the areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces militia, noting that El-Fashir is one of the stages of the military operations imposed on the Sudanese people.
He added: “We always say and repeat: the people will prevail, and the armed forces will win because they are supported by the people. All the Sudanese people are fighting alongside them, starting with the joint forces, Gasham forces, and the mobilized volunteers. We say that this people will triumph and that this battle will be decided in favor of the Sudanese people.”
Al-Burhan pledged retribution for the citizens of El-Fashir and accountability for the criminals for all the violations committed previously across Sudan before the eyes and ears of the world, which faced these crimes with silence and ignored accountability.
The Rapid Support Forces destroyed all health facilities, water sources and power stations in El-Fashir after committing a series of crimes against civilians, including killings, mass killings, sexual violence and forced displacement.