DUBAI: Sudan’s armed forces chief has criticized factional strife within its ex-ruling party, saying a move to reinstate an ally of deposed autocrat Omar Al-Bashir endangered national unity as the army seeks to win a war against paramilitary forces.
The National Congress Party has deep ties in the army and has seemed to sway its decision-making during the devastating 19-month-old war against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in particular hindering attempts at a ceasefire.
The NCP, which was in power for three decades before Bashir was ousted by a popular uprising in 2019, has in recent days shown signs of an internal schism after the party’s advisory council elected Ahmed Haroun as party president.
We do not accept any political activity that threatens the unity of Sudan or its fighters.
Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan
Haroun is a close associate of Bashir and both men are wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity dating to the early 2000s war in Sudan’s Darfur region. In January, the US offered a $5 million reward for Haroun’s capture.
In a speech, army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said the advisory council meeting was divisive. “We do not accept any political activity that threatens the unity of Sudan or its fighters,” he told a economic conference in Port Sudan. “We do not need any (political) conflicts or divisions, we have one goal which is to defeat the rebels,” he added.
After the current war erupted, Haroun and several former top Bashir deputies were sprung from prison and remain at large.
According to his lawyer, Bashir, 80, is now in custody in the town of Meroe, having been transported there from the embattled capital Khartoum for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy to the war-weary country said that more and faster aid deliveries are needed in Sudan, ideally through the implementation of humanitarian corridors and pauses as discussed with government leaders.
“We are pleased that there has been some progress, but we need to see much more,” Tom Perriello said.
