Editorial: Nip it in the pud
The Security and Defense Council acted wisely in responding to the voice of the people, declaring a general mobilization and putting an end to go speculation that the government had agreed to a three-month truce with the RSF militia.
Head of the Sovereignty Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Abdul Fatah Al-Burhan had no other option.
The people, through their actions on the ground, had clearly defined the boundaries of what is permissible and what is forbidden, declaring their rejection of any settlement or appeasement that would allow the RSF militia to return to the scene.
We have only ever found Al-Burhan where the Sudanese people are proud. He has never let the nation down, even as he has waged a fierce war, emerging as a heroic and seasoned leader. He has never failed his people or hesitated to support them. He has consistently stood on the right side of history, becoming a national hero whom people greet and rally around wherever he goes, captivated by his courage and his ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles for the benefit of Sudan.
Al-Burhan has done nothing more than respond to the demands of the citizens.
It is perplexing that the world is only now turning its attention to providing aid to El Fasher after it fell into the hands of the RSF militia, its inhabitants scattered between displacement, death, disease, and forced migration. There is hardly anyone left in El Fasher for whom a truce could offer relief. Those who fled have already been displaced, and those who perished have died as a result of genocide, ethnic cleansing, murder, and rape.
If there were any international efforts to aid El Fasher, the government remained committed to opening its roads and corridors, even though the militias were exploiting them to smuggle weapons. The state spared no effort to deliver humanitarian aid; it is the militias that are obstructing this. Security and Defense Council meeting did not hisitate to reject the truce proposal put forward by the United States. The principles of politics and the realities on the ground dictate that agreeing to a truce would embolden the RSF militia to pursue further destructive military ambitions. It would primarily signify the government’s surrender to the secession of Darfur and indicate its abandonment of its citizens.
The RSF militias have left Al-Burhan and the army with no option but to advance with dignity to liberate all the areas occupied by the militias before engaging in any peace agreements. It is unacceptable for the army to sit down to negotiate while the RSF militias are entrenched throughout Darfur and parts of Kordofan. The fall of El Fasher, the threats to invade the Northern State and the Nile River State, and the return to Khartoum are all attempts to force the government into negotiations that would return the RSF militias and their supporters from the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) to power once again, and guarantee a foothold for the Emirati sponsor in Sudan. But alas, those who have spilled Sudanese blood and violated their honor are not worthy of living among them, let alone being presented as rulers in any proposed settlement.