Sudan’s army chief had on Tuesday, August 29, embarked on a trip to Egypt on what will be his first trip abroad since the outbreak of conflict in his nativeland in April.
As President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan left the country, medics and witnesses claimed that about 39 civilians were killed, majority of them had been women and children, in shelling of Nyala, Sudan’s second city in the crisis hit South Darfur state where fighting between the army and paramilitary forces have escalated.
The Sudanese general had also held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a principle ally, on the developments in the war-torn country and bilateral ties, according to reports Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council
The conflict between Burhan and his former deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has been raging since April 15.
It had begun from Khartoum and the western region of Darfur to Kordofan and Jazira state, killing thousands of people and mandating millions of citizens to flee their homes.
Sonce April, the RSF has blockaded Burhan inside the military headquarters in Khartoum. However, last week, the army chief appeared in public outside the compound to assess troops in parts of the country.
He thereafter, on Monday, August 28, addressed the troops in Port Sudan, promising to fight the RSF whom he had tagged ‘mercenaries’ to stop their rebellion.