Which one is convincing to the Sudanese? Burhan's speech from Port Sudan or Hemedti's vision for peace?

Analysts have differed on the speech of the head of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who made it from a military base in Port Sudan, after leaving Khartoum, and the vision put forward by the commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemedti) for peace in Sudan.

While Sudanese writer and analyst Adel al-Baz said that Burhan's speech gives an important signal that the situation is under the control of the armed forces and that the latter's plan is moving in the right direction, Basha Tabiq, a member of Hemedti's advisory council, considered it shocking to all the people and reflects Burhan's will to continue the war and increase the suffering of the Sudanese.

Dr. Cameron Hudson, a former Africa official at the US National Security Council, said Burhan's speech comes within the framework of his desire to appear as a dominator of the scene, and sends a message abroad that he is the most powerful man in Sudan.

This came during the episode devoted by the "Beyond the News" program on (2023/8/28) to Al-Burhan's announcement that his exit from the General Headquarters in Khartoum was not made under any deal, stressing from a military base north of Port Sudan, his refusal to agree with those he called the rebels.

At the same time, Hemedti, in his vision for peace in the country, called for linking any settlement negotiations to the search for a comprehensive political solution, the establishment of a new unified army, and the liquidation of the political and partisan presence in state institutions, according to him.

The episode behind the news questioned the motives of Burhan's visit to Port Sudan in light of the continued fighting in Khartoum and other cities, and the significance of his assertion of rejecting the agreement with what he called traitors and rebels, and this coincided with Hemedti's vision that he put forward and the conditions it contained.

Outstanding issues

According to El-Baz, Burhan's talk also confirms that there is no longer room for fear of any setbacks that could occur in light of the agreement of everyone to end the rebellion, noting that Burhan's exit from Khartoum was necessary to address some of the outstanding issues.

In this context, he pointed out that one of these outstanding issues is the disruption of the Sudanese government, which must be decided by the president himself, noting that fighting in limited places while the rest of Sudan's cities are safe, and their suffering is represented in the absence of a government to manage its affairs.

El-Baz attributed Burhan's keenness to deny that his exit was part of a deal to the spread of rumors on social media claiming that this exit was made in agreement with the rebels, and by a US plane, and "which is contrary to reality, as Burhan's exit was with a plan and implementation by the armed forces alone."

On the other hand, El-Baz questioned the seriousness of the vision put forward by Hemedti, considering that it is nothing more than slogans, as it was not among what Hemedti adopted when he was a partner in power, adding that these theories do not work in light of the continuation of the war, which he believes must be resolved first, by ending the rebellion.

On the contrary, Pasha Tabiq considered that Burhan's speech reflects a desire to continue the war under the pressure of well-known political parties, while Hemedti's vision came in support of a political solution and ending the war, stressing that the latter has the right to put forward that vision, as he was an essential part of the Sovereignty Council, which Burhan chairs.

Further destruction

Tabiq went on to stress that Burhan's approach will lead to further destruction of the country's infrastructure, stressing that this does not mean the support forces in anything, and that if the armed forces insist on continuing the war, "the support forces are present in the field and achieve successive victories."

Tabiq denounced the designation of the support forces as rebel militias, stressing that they are an institution affiliated with the armed forces with a law approved by all, pointing out that what is meant by the new army, which Hemedti mentioned in his vision, is to reform the military institution and liberate it from the control of a specific political elite.

For his part, Hudson believes that what Hemedti put forward comes within the framework of a message he sent to the international community in which he tries to show that he is still influential in the scene, which everyone sees as different and no one can be fooled by this attempt.

Hudson described this vision as nothing more than recycling points that everyone has already put forward and nothing new, but it adopts beautiful language, adding that Hemedti thought that she would be admired by the international community, which did not happen because everyone sees at the same time how the support forces rape women and torture Sudanese.

On the issue of integrating the support forces into the Sudanese army, Hudson believes that this has been overcome, in light of the lack of sincerity of the support forces in accepting the merger, and there is no real possibility of the matter, arguing that the conflict will not end without the victory of one of the parties, and there is no room for a settlement or a political solution soon.