WAD MADANI, Sudan: Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said Saturday 鈥渨e don鈥檛 need鈥� the African Union to resolve the country鈥檚 nearly five-month conflict, as new figures put the death toll at over 7,000.
Diplomatic tensions have flared since the head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, met last week with a political adviser to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), prompting rebuke from Burhan鈥檚 government.
The brutal war since April 15 between the army and the RSF has killed 鈥渘early 7,500鈥� people, according to a Friday report by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) project which noted the toll was 鈥渁 conservative estimate.鈥�
ACLED as well as activists and aid groups on the ground have repeatedly warned that casualty figures out of Sudan are underreported as fighting hampers access to many areas and the warring sides do not disclose deaths among their ranks.
Much of the violence has been concentrated around the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur, where witnesses again reported clashes on Saturday between army forces and the RSF on the outskirts of El Fasher, the North Darfur state capital.
Diplomatic efforts to end the fighting between the forces of Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have repeatedly floundered.
Multiple truces brokered by the United States and 萝莉视频 in the early stages of the war had been systematically violated before the two mediators adjourned talks in June.
More recently, some moves by the army chief including trips to Egypt, South Sudan and Qatar have signalled a potential return to diplomacy.
But in a speech Saturday rallying troops in the southern state of Blue Nile, Burhan seemed to shun regional mediation efforts.
鈥淚f this is your approach, we don鈥檛 need your help,鈥� the army chief said of the African Union, referring to Faki鈥檚 recent meeting with the RSF adviser, Youssef Ezzat.
The Burhan-controlled foreign ministry has called the meeting 鈥渁 dangerous precedent鈥� and 鈥渁 clear violation鈥� of the continental bloc鈥檚 norms, saying it 鈥渟hould hold no place for rebel movements and criminal terrorist militias.鈥�
Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt, a spokesman for the AU Commission, said in a statement Thursday the organization was committed to interacting 鈥渨ith all parties.鈥�
Lebatt noted that no Sudanese party had expressed 鈥渁ny reservation鈥� when 鈥渢he same approach鈥� was adopted by other international actors.
The AU suspended Sudan鈥檚 membership in 2021 after Burhan and Daglo together led a coup that derailed a transition to civilian rule following the ouster of longtime strongman Omar Al-Bashir.
Speaking in the Blue Nile city of Al-Damazin on Saturday, Burhan also took East African bloc IGAD to task, after his administration has repeatedly accused mediation coordinator Kenya of siding with the RSF.
IGAD 鈥渉as deviated from its course,鈥� Burhan said. 鈥淲e Sudanese can solve our problems ourselves.鈥�