Sudan army chief vows ‘to continue war until Janjaweed eliminated or surrender’

Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Lt Gen Yasir El Atta has vowed “to continue the war until the Janjaweed [Rapid Support Forces/RSF] are eliminated or surrender according to the conditions of the Sudanese nation”. However, Gen El Atta emphasised that the military has no desire to rule after the end of the war, and he also denied any rumoured ‘differences’, between himself and the head of the ruling junta, de facto president of Sudan, and commander-in-chief of the SAF, Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan.

In an hour-long interview broadcast on Sudanese state television, Gen El Atta said that El Burhan has “reached the limit”, and offered to step down and hand over power to himself and deputy commander of the SAF, Lt Gen Shamseldin Kabbashi, several days ago. El Atta says that he encouraged El Burhan to wait until the end of the war.

He reiterated that “Sudan will only be ruled through elections,” adding that in the Sovereignty Council, neither he, El Burhan, Kabbashi, nor Ibrahim Jaber want to rule. He denied the existence of any differences between him and El Burhan, adding: “I have no differences with El Burhan or Kabashi.”

‘Interview disappointing’

In response, the official spokesman for the Civil Democratic Forces (Tagadom) alliance, Bakri El Jak, said in a press statement that: “The interview was disappointing to the hopes of millions of Sudanese who are looking forward to a real peace that will end their suffering that has exceeded description in displacement centres and refugee camps.”

He added that El Atta accused Tagadom of treason and collaboration, “which are false accusations that reflect a high degree of irresponsibility in speaking carelessly about someone who is supposed to be a wise leader… El Atta knows better than anyone else how far these lies are from the truth…”

El Jak said: “General El Atta is drowning in a sea of Sudanese people’s blood that he shed without mercy, and whoever commits all these crimes has no right to claim moral superiority that gives him the right to distribute certificates of patriotism and the worthiness of belonging to the homeland and its people.”

He adds: “El Atta’s statements reveal the tragedy of the military institution that has been politicised to the core and no longer cares about the simplest rules of military professionalism.”

El Jak continues that “the military institution has been greatly infiltrated by the Islamist movement and has turned some of its senior leaders into mere spokesmen on its behalf instead of adhering to the professionalism, discipline, and strictness that must be present in those who wear the military uniform. This politicisation has weakened the military institution and brought it to abysmal levels of disregard for the interests of the people and the country’s capabilities, and this is what the April 15 war clearly revealed. This demonstrates the validity of the necessity of building a single professional national army that distances itself from practicing politics and economics and adheres to its basic duties, which are limited to defending the country from security threats.”