Sudan’s army chief Burhan survives drone strike: military
The attack was the first of its kind against the Sudanese army in the Red Sea state, which had been relatively spared the fighting between the military and the rival Rapid Support Forces.
Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan survived a drone attack at a military base in eastern Sudan on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Several drone strikes hit a military graduation ceremony at an army base in the town of Gebit, in the Red Sea state, according to local news outlets. Burhan, who was attending the ceremony, was unharmed and left for the city of Port Sudan, sources told Al-Jazeera.
The Sudanese Armed Forces said in a statement that its air defenses intercepted two drones that were launched at the base after the ceremony concluded. The attack killed five people and injured several others, it read.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been engaged in heavy fighting with the SAF for more than a year, have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack is the first attributed to the RSF in the Red Sea state since the power struggle between the SAF and RSF first erupted on April 15, 2023. There have been previous attacks led by local tribes against the army, fearing its presence in the area.
In light of the relative calm in the state, Port Sudan, which lies about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Gebit, has served as the army’s de facto capital.
Army positions elsewhere across Sudan have come under repeated attacks blamed on the RSF.
Earlier this month, several drones were fired at the headquarters of an army division in the White Nile city of Kosti in southern Sudan. Local media also reported drone strikes in the city of Rabak and at the air base in Kenana.
In June, the SAF said its air defenses shot down six drones launched by the RSF on three military areas in the states of Khartoum and White Nile.
Wednesday’s attack in Gebit comes one day after Sudan’s Foreign Ministry set out several conditions for participating in US-sponsored cease-fire talks.
In a statement released Tuesday, the ministry said that while it is “ready to engage in any negotiations that would end the RSF’s occupation of cities and citizens’ homes,” any talks must be preceded by the RSF’s full withdrawal and an end of its expansion in the country.
Last week, the RSF announced that it would attend peace talks in Switzerland set for Aug. 14.
“We share with the international community the goal of achieving a full cease-fire across the country and facilitating humanitarian access to everyone in need,” RSF leader Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo wrote on X.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last Tuesday that Washington has invited Sudan’s warring parties for cease-fire talks in Switzerland.
The United States and Saudi Arabia brokered talks in Jeddah in May 2023 between the rival Sudanese parties. But the talks broke down one month later, as the army accused the RSF of failing to implement the terms of an agreement reached there. The last round of negotiations was held in December.
The renewed US push comes as the humanitarian situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate. The war has killed more than 40,000 people and more than 10 million others have been forced to flee their homes in what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst displacement crisis.
