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Sudan's top general survives drone strike

July 31, 2024

Abdel-Fattah Burhan escaped harm during an attack that killed five in eastern Sudan. This attack came ahead of peace talks between the army and the rebel RSF faction in Switzerland.

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Abdel-Fattah Burhan
The army and its paramilitary opponents are expected to start peace talks brokered by the US and Saudi ArabiaImage: AFP

General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the top commander of Sudan's military, came away unscathed from a drone strike on an army ceremony that he was attending, a spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.

Military spokesperson Hassan Ibrahim said Burhan survived the attack that killed five people in Gebeit, a town in eastern Sudan.

Sudan has been locked in a civil conflict for over a year, with the army fighting a powerful paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The group was once overseen by the Sudanese government, but broke away due to a rift between Burhan and RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.

Millions of Sudanese civilians have been displaced and tens of thousands killed as a result of the conflict.

Refugees fleeing Sudan's brutal war recount horror of Darfur

Upcoming peace talks in Switzerland

With intense fighting plaguing the capital Khartoum, the army has mostly been operating out of its Red Sea base in the country's east.

The assassination attempt comes on the heels of an announcement by RSF leader Dagalo, also known by the mononym Hemedti, saying he would join peace talks in Switzerland next month.

The talks, brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia, will be "a major step" toward peace and stability in Sudan and create a new state based on "justice, equality and federal rule."

es/ab (AP, Reuters)