Sudan's al-Burhan rejects negotiations, vows military campaign to reclaim RSF territory

Sudan's military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan stood before a gathering in Village 5, a settlement in Merowe in northern Sudan, and made a declaration that closed a door many hoped might still open. He would take back every inch of territory held by the Rapid Support Forces, he said. There would be no negotiations. The military campaign would continue until the RSF was gone from Sudan entirely.

It was Tuesday when he spoke those words, and the same day brought fresh evidence of what that commitment would cost. In West Kordofan state, at least 10 civilians were killed in an attack attributed to the RSF in Abu Ajal village, southeast of En Nahud. Several others were wounded. The Dar Hamar Emergency Committee, a local charity group, documented the incident and accused the RSF of multiple violations against civilians in the area. Simultaneously, across the country in Blue Nile state, more than 5,500 people fled their villages over the course of three days as security deteriorated, according to the International Organization for Migration.

The war that prompted al-Burhan's hardline stance began in April 2023, when the Sudanese army and the RSF—a paramilitary force—fell into conflict over a plan to integrate the RSF into the regular military. Three and a half years later, the fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced roughly 13 million, by UN and international estimates. The numbers are staggering enough to numb, but they represent actual people: families torn from homes, communities erased, children born into displacement.

Al-Burhan's rejection of talks came as his forces were advancing. The Sudanese army had made gains in North Kordofan and was pushing toward the cities of En Nahud and Al Khuway, prompting the RSF to mass troops in West Kordofan in response. The military momentum seemed to be shifting, and al-Burhan's statement reflected a calculation that the RSF could be defeated through force rather than negotiation.

But the international community was not aligned with that vision. Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, posted on X on Monday that peace could only come through "an inclusive Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led national dialogue, transition toward a civilian-led government." The US State Department had already made clear, in a statement last month, that neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the RSF—nor their respective leaders—represented legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan. The message was blunt: both sides were part of the problem, and neither could claim to speak for the nation's future.

What remained unclear was whether al-Burhan would listen. His words on Tuesday suggested he would not. The military option, he had said, would continue. Every inch of territory would be retaken. The war that has already reshaped Sudan's entire landscape—emptying villages, overwhelming hospitals, creating famine conditions in parts of the country—would go on.