Sudan.. Battles approach the presidential palace and Burhan confirms: No negotiations with those who took up arms against the state

The head of Sudan's Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, confirmed on Thursday that "there will be no negotiations or compromise with those who took up arms against the state and the people," while the army continues its advance to extend its control over the center of the capital, which includes the presidential palace.

Al-Burhan said, during his inspection of the Omdurman military area west of the capital, Khartoum, that "the armed forces will not abandon anyone who carried weapons and fought alongside them in the war of dignity (against the Rapid Support Forces), and they will be partners in any political project in the country, and we will not exclude anyone."

He added: "There will be no negotiation or compromise with those who took up arms against the state and the people. We will continue on the path to victory until the last inch of the country is cleansed of the Rapid Support Forces."

#Burhan from Omdurman:

The army and the state leadership will not abandon those who fought with it, regardless of their classifications, as they are partners with us in everything.

They will be partners in any political action or any state project.

-There are no negotiations or reconciliation. #Sudan_wins pic.twitter.com/iqN8KCIjTx

- Mahmoud Hassan (@AL_70o0T_) February 13, 2025

The battles are approaching the palace

This comes at a time when clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces approached the presidential palace in Khartoum, with explosions heard in the Friendship Hall near the palace and battles raging near the Soba Bridge east of Khartoum.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that central Khartoum was witnessing strong explosions and rising columns of smoke as a result of the intense clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. The army forces also continued their advance in the Soba area, south of Khartoum, with the aim of controlling the Soba Bridge, which links the East Nile area and Khartoum.

The Coordination added, in a statement, that the attack on the camp resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries. The Coordination condemned in the strongest terms what it called the heinous crime in Zamzam camp, and the blatant violation of all international laws and norms.

For his part, the official government spokesman, Minister of Culture and Information, Khaled Al-Aiser, said that the Rapid Support Forces have escalated their attacks against camps for the displaced in Darfur, including the Zamzam camp for the displaced, and stressed that the government strongly condemns the "repeated tragic incidents" that the displaced are exposed to in the Zamzam camp and other sites "from burning and destroying property."

Al-Aiser called for the Rapid Support Forces to be classified as a “terrorist organization in accordance with international humanitarian law, which criminalizes such acts that threaten the safety and human dignity of the displaced,” and urged the international community and humanitarian organizations “to assume their responsibilities in confronting these serious violations.”

For its part, the Office of the Official Spokesperson and the Media Department condemned in a press statement what it described as the "suspicious international silence" regarding the "campaign of genocide against most of Darfur's ports", which is being perpetrated by the "terrorist Janjaweed militia," as it put it.

He added that the "criminal militia" killed a large number of displaced people in their attack on Zamzam camp on Tuesday and Wednesday, and were preventing those fleeing the killing from leaving the camp. They also "burned markets, food and water warehouses, and primary press service points when they were forced to withdraw," according to the press release.

The statement also indicated that there are frequent reports "of the terrorist militia's persistence in committing rape and sexual violence against displaced persons in other parts of Darfur, such as Kalma camp in South Darfur."

In the same context, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta Salami, expressed her shock in a statement on the X platform today at the "attacks on the Zamzam camp for the displaced and the closure of escape routes, which puts the lives of civilians at risk in light of the lack of treatment for the injured."

She said reports indicated that the displaced people were fleeing Zamzam camp to other parts of El Fasher, taking refuge in open areas and abandoned houses.

More than 100,000 people, most of them women and children, who fled the hell of war in Sudan are facing harsh living conditions in the camps for the displaced in Damazin State. They suffer from a severe shortage of shelter and food despite the assistance of organizations and government agencies.

Source: Yemen Youth Net + Al Jazeera + Agencies