CAIRO, April 20. /TASS/. Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have lost more than 60 fighters in clashes with the northeast African country’s army, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti) told Al Jazeera television on Thursday.
"[Army commander and chair of the governing Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah] al-Burhan launched the attack, the Rapid Support Forces lost more than 60 people [who were] killed," he claimed. According to the RSF head, "the only solution to the crisis in Sudan is to bring al-Burhan to justice." He called on the international community not to negotiate with the army commander, saying that "he initiated the fighting and is responsible for the deaths of the Sudanese people."
Hemedti also held the Sudanese army responsible for the broken 24-hour ceasefire that the parties agreed upon on Wednesday. "We call for a humanitarian truce and a ceasefire, but the other side doesn't want it," the RSF commander argued.
He also said that the paramilitary forces reject any interference in the country’s internal conflict, adding that the RSF does not enjoy the support of any outside forces. "We don't get any external support, and what the media report in this regard is a lie. We reject any interference [in the conflict in Sudan]," he stressed.
The situation in Sudan escalated due to disagreements between al-Burhan and Hemedti, who is the former’s deputy on the Sovereignty Council. On the morning of April 15, clashes broke out between the two groups near a military base in Merowe and in the capital city, Khartoum. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 330 people have been killed in the conflict, with over 3,000 wounded.
Meanwhile, the Sudan Doctors Committee reported on Thursday that at least 198 civilians have been killed in the conflict, over 1,000 injured and more than 3,300 had to flee their homes.