Sudan Crisis: Al-Burhan's Diplomacy in the middle of a Crisis

 

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese armed forces, traveled to Qatar on Thursday to meet with the ruler of that nation. He had traveled outside of Sudan three times since the violence began in April. He had just traveled to South Sudan and Egypt as well. 

The men of Al-Burhan are engaged in combat with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He had spent several months imprisoned within a military facility in Khartoum, the nation's capital. Till the end of August, he remained in Sudan.

According to the Qatari royal palace, when Abdel Fattah al-Burhan landed in Doha, Qatar, he was greeted warmly with a red carpet. He discussed the latest events in Sudan and the issues Sudan is facing with Qatar's leader. Burhan left Doha later that day.

According to the Armed fight Location and Event Data Project, around 5,000 people have been killed as a result of the fight between Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF. Burhan declared the dissolution of the RSF late Wednesday night. The US also blacklisted a senior RSF commander, Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, who happens to be the RSF leader's brother.

The Transitional Sovereignty Council, led by Burhan, claimed that they decided to dismantle the RSF because of the significant implications of the RSF rebelling against the government, torturing individuals, and purposely causing damage to the country's infrastructure.

Human rights campaigners have accused the RSF and the Arab militias linked to it of raping, robbing, and killing numerous individuals from various ethnic groups, particularly in Darfur. They have also accused the army of wrongdoing, such as bombing locations where the RSF is present without regard for innocent civilians.

Burhan, Sudan's armed forces commander, departed his military headquarters a month ago and has been traveling around the region to meet with friends and allies. He's been living in Port Sudan, an eastern secure city. The Sudanese government and the UN both relocated their offices there.

When there were reports of peace talks to settle the crisis, Burhan traveled to Egypt, a close ally. He was in South Sudan this week. According to Ashraf Abdulaziz, the editor of the Sudanese weekly Al-Jarida, the purpose of these trips is to demonstrate that the international community accepts him as the legitimate leader.

Egypt and South Sudan tried to establish a peace at the start of the war, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Because both sides abandoned in the fight violated the cease-fires they committed to, the United States and Saudi Arabia peace talks in June.

Burhan didn't appreciate how an East African body named IGAD was attempting to mediate. He accused Kenya, which was in control of IGAD, of giving a platform to Daglo, one of the conflict's leaders, when they were attempting to bring both sides together.

Since April 15, the war has killed thousands of civilians and forced 4.8 million people to leave their homes. According to the United Nations, one million of them went to other countries.

Was this the case?