The intensification of fighting in the cities prompted many Sudanese to seek refuge in neighboring countries (Getty)

The United Nations said that the battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces caused the displacement of 8 million people, while the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, stressed that negotiations to stop the war should take place inside the country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in a statement on Wednesday that the brutal conflict in Sudan led to the displacement of about 8 million people, and called on the international community for urgent support to meet the needs of the displaced.

Grandi added during a visit to Ethiopia, "I heard painful stories about the loss of family, friends, homes and livelihoods, but amidst this despair, I also sensed the determination of refugees to move forward if we provide them with support and opportunities."

On December 21, a United Nations spokesman estimated that the conflict constituted “the largest displacement crisis in the world.”

Since April 2023, Ethiopia, one of the six countries neighboring Sudan, has received more than 100,000 people who fled the battles, according to the United Nations. These are in addition to about 50,000 Sudanese refugees present in the country.

The UNHCR said, in a statement last week, that the number of displaced Sudanese in Chad has reached 500,000 people since the outbreak of war in mid-April, while in South Sudan, an average of 1,500 people cross into the country daily.

Al-Burhan called on politicians to search for solutions to the country’s crises from within (Al-Jazeera)

Conditions of proof

Politically, the head of the Sovereignty Council in Sudan, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, said that negotiations to stop the war should take place inside the country, stressing that any initiative from the Intergovernmental Authority for Development in East Africa (IGAD) does not concern the Sudanese people.

In a speech he delivered - Tuesday - to the officers and soldiers of the 11th Infantry Division of the Sudanese army in the city of Khashm Al-Girba in Kassala State (east of the country), Al-Burhan called on politicians to search for solutions to the country’s crises from within, saying that it is necessary to sit with all segments of the Sudanese people to reach satisfactory solutions. For everyone.

He continued that he would not accept any negotiation that does not satisfy the Sudanese people and is not based on strong and solid foundations that preserve the people’s dignity, stressing the necessity of the Rapid Support Forces, without mentioning them by name, leaving civil institutions and civilian homes.

Al-Burhan - who also commands the Sudanese army - also said that he would not travel to meet anyone, referring to the recent meeting in Addis Ababa between former Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok (head of the Coordination of Democratic Civilian Forces) and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). ) in Addis Ababa.

The President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council refused to participate in a meeting called by IGAD earlier this month, while Hemedti agreed to participate in it.

Al-Burhan stressed - in his speech to the military - that the initiatives of this African organization do not concern the Sudanese leadership, saying that Sudan does not accept solutions being imposed on it from outside.

It is noteworthy that Sudan announced this month that it was freezing its membership in the organization, which sought, along with other regional and international parties, to hold a meeting between Al-Burhan and Hemedti.

Last Sunday, the President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council visited Algeria and confirmed that his country was being exposed to a conspiracy with the complicity of regional and international partners, as he put it. Before that, the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces undertook an African tour that included Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies