Sudanese paramilitary force leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on Friday said there will not be any negotiation until the fighting ends, reported The BBC.
During a telephonic interview with the BBC on Friday, Dagalo, also popularly known as Hemedti, said his fighters were being “relentlessly” bombed since a three-day truce had been extended. The 72-hour ceasefire, brokered by the United States, was first announced on Monday. Thursday’s extension of the ceasefire followed intensive diplomatic efforts by neighboring countries, the US, UK, and the UN.
“We don’t want to destroy Sudan,” Dagalo said.
The Rapid Support Force (RSF) leader blamed the Sudanese army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for the violence.
During the interview, Hemedti said he was open to talks but the condition was that the ceasefire should hold.
“Cease hostilities. After that we can have negotiations,” he said.
The RSF leader said he doesn’t have any personal problem with Gen Burhan but regarded him as a traitor for including those in the government who were loyal to former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was dethroned by the military and RSF together in 2019.
Hemedti said Burhan is currently being led by the radical Islamic front leaders. In 2021, the two leaders disagreed to share power with civilians and took full control in a coup. But the two military leaders fell out this year over the proposed timeframe of incorporating Hemedti’s RSF into the army.
“I am looking forward to having the civilian government today – before tomorrow, a fully civilian government. This is my principle,” Hemedti told the BBC.
The South Sudanese paramilitary force leader said that the RSF fighters are not the enemies of the military, but, they were battling to protect the country from the relics of the previous government.
He said the fighting will stop once the military goes back to their army divisions.
