(MENAFN) Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on Friday rejected any truce or peace agreement with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) unless the group first lays down its weapons. Speaking to a crowd in the village of al-Siraih in central Al-Gazira State, Burhan stated, “If the rebels do not put their weapons on the ground and sit down, there will be no dialogue or peace. We will not accept them in Sudan, nor those who stand with them.”

He added, “We will continue on this path. Either we eliminate them, or we keep fighting them until we give our lives. But we will have no truce, no talks, or peace with them.”

Burhan emphasized that all Sudanese “have been burned by this war,” but asserted that the country’s “national unity and shared destiny” remain intact. He stressed that the army has been determined from the outset “not to end this war except with the end of these rebels,” accusing the RSF of killing, torturing, looting, and brutalizing civilians. “They will receive nothing from us except what makes them taste suffering,” he said, reiterating that the army has no plans for talks with the RSF.

He urged every capable person to join the fight, saying, “This war will not end through negotiations or a truce but through defeating the rebellion.” Burhan stated, “We assure our people that these killers and criminals have no place with us in Sudan. If you want peace, gather these mercenaries in one place and collect their weapons. Without that, no one will speak to them.”

The comments come amid international efforts to broker a humanitarian truce. Earlier this week, US envoy Masaad Boulos called on Sudan’s warring parties “to immediately agree to and implement a proposed humanitarian truce,” without giving details. Last week, the RSF said it had agreed to join a truce proposed by the Quad group—the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. According to the World Health Organization, at least 40,000 people have died, and 12 million have been displaced. Last month, the RSF seized El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, amid reports of massacres. The group now controls all five Darfur states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including the capital Khartoum. Darfur accounts for about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, though most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.

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