The Sudanese general rejects the truce after the UN Security Council called for a cessation of hostilities during the Islamic holy month.
Sudanese Armed Forces senior general Yasser al-Atta has said there will be no truce in Sudan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan unless the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) abandons homes and sites of the civilians.
The statement follows a call by the United Nations Security Council for a truce during Ramadan, which begins this week. RSF said it welcomed the call for a truce.
Al-Atta's statement, posted Sunday on the army's official Telegram channel, cited the army's recent military advances in Omdurman, part of Sudan's capital.
He said there could be no truce during Ramadan unless the RSF followed through on a commitment made in May last year at Saudi-US-brokered talks in Jeddah to withdraw from civilian homes and public facilities.
He also said that Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF leader commonly known as Hemedti, should not play any role in Sudan's future politics or military.
The statement follows the UN Security Council's call for a respite in the 11-month-old conflict during Ramadan, which is expected to begin on Monday or Tuesday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.
Fourteen countries on the 15-member council on Friday backed the resolution proposed by the United Kingdom, with only Russia abstaining from the vote.
The resolution called on “all parties to the conflict to seek a sustainable solution to the conflict through dialogue.”
Fighting between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF broke out in mid-April 2023.
Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed, 8.3 million have been forcibly displaced and the UN says almost 25 million people (half of Sudan's population) need help.
The army has been militarily on the defensive for much of the conflict. In the first days of fighting, the RSF occupied much of the capital, Khartoum.
Guterres supports Ramadan truce
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged warring parties for a truce following the adoption of the UK-drafted resolution by the UN Security Council on Friday. However, the mechanism to implement the resolution remains unclear.
Sudan's ambassador to the UN, Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, told the council on Thursday that the president of the country's transitional council praised Guterres' truce call. However, he said the leader is “wondering how to do this.”
Welcoming the truce call, RSF said in a statement on Saturday: “By accepting the proposed humanitarian ceasefire, we express our willingness to participate in discussions on the establishment of mutually agreed monitoring mechanisms.”
“These mechanisms are crucial to ensure the effective implementation of the ceasefire and to achieve the humanitarian objectives envisioned in this resolution.”
