Sudan’s Army Chief Pledges to Eliminate RSF, However Long It Takes
Speaking in Khartoum after the U.S. withheld his UN General Assembly visa, Sudan’s army chief pledged to eliminate the RSF, underscoring the obstacles to a proposed humanitarian truce.
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Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan vowed Saturday to “cleanse Sudan all the way to Darfur” and pursue the Rapid Support Forces wherever they operate.
“I make a pledge to you, and a pledge to the Sudanese people and to the martyrs, that our goal is to eliminate these militias, no matter how long it takes,” the Transitional Sovereignty Council chairman said.
He said his forces would pursue the RSF “wherever they entered,” putting the country’s western territories at the center of his pledge to restore control.
Darfur in The Army’s Sights
The speech highlighted the gap between al-Burhan’s ambitions and Sudan’s military geography after more than three years of fighting.
The Sudanese Armed Forces retook Khartoum and much of central Sudan by early 2025.
The RSF subsequently strengthened its western stronghold, capturing El Fasher in late October 2025 after an 18-month siege.
El Fasher had been the army’s last major urban foothold in Darfur. Its fall consolidated RSF control across most of the region.
By September 2026, the army and its allies held the capital, the north, the east, the Red Sea coast and most central areas.
The RSF and allied forces controlled most of Darfur and substantial territory in Kordofan.
Combat remained concentrated around El Obeid in North Kordofan, with fighting also spreading into Blue Nile.
Those divisions leave al-Burhan’s promised advance dependent on further territorial gains.
Visa Dispute and Truce Pressure
The address followed Washington’s decision to withhold al-Burhan’s visa for the U.N. General Assembly, a step widely associated with efforts to secure a three-month humanitarian pause.
The U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have backed ceasefire proposals. Al-Burhan has portrayed external pressure as an attempt to dictate Sudan’s future.
In Khartoum, he dismissed the need for a foreign visa or permission and pledged to remain in Sudan alongside its people, even at the cost of his life.
His negotiating conditions remain restrictive: RSF fighters must leave cities, gather at designated locations, and disarm before political discussions.
He has offered amnesty to those who surrender while rejecting power-sharing with the group’s leadership.
A War With Mounting Civilian Costs
The conflict began on April 15, 2023, following a struggle over the RSF’s integration into the army and the direction of Sudan’s political transition.
The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, emerged from the Janjaweed militias deployed in Darfur during the 2000s.
Investigators have documented atrocities by both belligerents, including attacks on civilians.
U.N. fact-finding bodies said the El Fasher siege and its aftermath displayed characteristics of genocide against non-Arab communities.
About 14 million people have been displaced, including roughly 4.5 million refugees. Famine has been confirmed in some areas, while insecurity and restrictions continue to obstruct relief deliveries.
Ahmet Koçak
Ahmet Koçak is a news editor at Clash Report based in Istanbul. He previously served as Deputy Managing Editor at Türkiye Today, helping launch the digital news platform in 2023, and spent three years as Senior Editor at Daily Sabah. His work focuses on breaking news, geopolitics, international affairs, and digital journalism.
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