Sudan's Burhan urges Trump to intervene in Sudan war

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at war with a rival paramilitary group since April 2023, has called on US President Donald Trump to bring peace.

"The Sudanese people now look to Washington to take the next step: to build on the US president's honesty and work with us – and those in the region who genuinely seek peace – to end this war," Sudan's de facto leader wrote in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal.

Attempts to broker peace between Burhan and his one-time deputy, Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have repeatedly failed over the course of the war that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 12 million and created the world's largest hunger and displacement crises.

Trump took an interest in the war for the first time last week, vowing he would end it after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman urged him to get involved.

Truce

"The consensus among Sudanese is that Mr Trump is a leader who speaks directly and acts decisively. Many believe he has the resolve to confront the foreign actors prolonging our suffering," Burhan wrote.

The army chief stopped short of naming the United Arab Emirates, which he has repeatedly accused of backing the RSF – an accusation the UAE has consistently denied.

The US and the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Egypt are currently attempting to broker a truce.

In his 1,200-word piece published on Wednesday, Burhan said the choice was "between a sovereign state trying to protect its citizens and a genocidal militia bent on destroying communities."

Power struggle

Burhan, a career soldier, further wrote on Wednesday: "I long recognised that the RSF was a powder keg."

RSF commander Dagalo, whose fighters were originally contracted by Khartoum to fight its wars on Sudan's periphery, became Burhan's right-hand man after Sudan's 2018-2019 uprising.

A power struggle erupted into an all-out war in mid-April, 2023.