Sudanese Armed Forces chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan insisted he will not consider any peace proposal that fails to dismantle the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
He also called for replacing the current Sudanese flag with the old tricolour used after the country gained independence, further deepening divisions in a nation now run by two rival authorities.
Gen Al Burhan was speaking to military commanders as his troops lost control of the West Kordofan city of Babanusa on Monday, after what the RSF described as a “pre-emptive” operation against government forces at dawn.
“Any solution that does not include dismantling these militias is one we will not consider,” Sudan's state media reported Gen Al Burhan as telling senior military officers in a speech did not mention the fall of Babanusa.
He urged citizens to “reshape Sudan”. “We want to restore Sudan’s old flag with its three colours, the one raised by our fathers and grandfathers at independence,” he added. “We are in real need of rebuilding Sudan on genuine and sound foundations”.
Sudan’s independence-era flag, adopted in 1956, is a horizontal tricolour of blue, yellow and green. The design reflects the country’s natural geography – blue for the Nile, yellow for the desert and green for agriculture.
The current flag replaced it in 1970, after a military coup. It features red, white and black horizontal stripes with a green triangle, colours associated with Arab nations.
The fall of Babanusa – the last Sudanese Armed Forces stronghold in West Kordofan – comes less than five weeks after the army lost control of El Fasher in North Darfur.
The RSF now holds all of Darfur and parts of Kordofan, while the armed forces retain control of the capital Khartoum and the eastern, central and northern regions of the country.
Clashes across the Kordofan region have forced thousands to flee into makeshift camps, adding to what the UN calls the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have been uprooted and at least half of the population faces hunger as the war rages on.
International efforts to halt the fighting have stalled. The US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, known as the Quad, have proposed a three-month humanitarian truce followed by political talks.
However, Gen Al Burhan has alternated between dismissing the proposal as the “worst” he has seen and cautiously endorsing Washington’s involvement despite criticising US envoy Massad Boulos. Gen Al Burhan's latest remarks signal a hardening stance.
