Burhan calls for 'free elections' in Sudan to end war

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has called for a "transitional period" followed by "free and fair elections" after visiting Egypt on his first trip abroad since the outbreak of war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in April.

The military ruler returned home on Tuesday, as dozens of civilians were killed in the latest violence.

"We are keen to end this war and establish a transitional period after which the people can establish a state through free and fair elections," Burhan said in a statement to the Egyptian Qahira channel.

As Burhan travelled for talks with key ally Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, medics and witnesses said 39 civilians were killed, most of them women and children, in shelling of Nyala, the South Darfur state capital where fighting between the army and paramilitary forces has intensified.

Burhan was back in Sudan's Red Sea city of Port Sudan late Tuesday, the country's highest authority, the Sovereign Council said, after he swapped his trademark military fatigues for a suit and tie for his flight to El Alamein on Egypt's north coast earlier the same day.

While there, he said his forces faced "rebel groups who have committed war crimes in their attempt to seize power".

Western countries have accused the RSF paramilitaries and allied militias of killings based on ethnicity, and the International Criminal Court has opened a new probe into alleged war crimes.

The army has also been accused of abuses, including a July 8 air strike that killed around two dozen civilians.

In their meeting, Sisi's office said he had "reaffirmed Egypt's firm position in standing by Sudan and supporting its security, stability and territorial integrity".

The war between Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has raged since April 15, killing thousands and uprooting millions.

Burhan came to power as a head of a Transitional Sovereignty Council, composed of military and civilian representatives, in 2019 after longtime Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted following mass protests and a military coup.

He promised to return the country to civilian rule and hold elections but in 2021 overthrew civilian prime minister Abdulla Hamdok.

For months, the RSF had besieged Burhan inside the military headquarters in Khartoum, but last week the general made his first foray outside the compound.

On Tuesday, in Khartoum's eastern district of Sharq al-Nil, the RSF came under artillery fire, according to witnesses.

New Darfur violence

Fighting in Nyala killed at least 39 civilians when shelling hit their homes, witnesses and a medical source said.

"The entire members of five families were killed in a single day," said Gouja Ahmed, a rights activist originally from the city.

Images posted online showed dozens of shrouded bodies on the ground, as well as men placing the dead in a large grave.

Darfur has long been the site of unrest since a war that erupted in 2003 and saw the then-government of Omar al-Bashir unleash the feared Janjaweed -- precursors of the RSF -- on ethnic minority rebels and civilians.

Since August 11 more than 50,000 people have fled Nyala due to the violence, the United Nations says.

Before they turned on each other, Burhan had been backed by Daglo when he became Sudan's de facto ruler in a 2021 coup.

The coup derailed a transition painstakingly negotiated between military and civilian leaders following the 2019 ouster of longtime autocrat Bashir.

Port Sudan, spared the fighting, is where government officials and the UN have relocated. It is also the site of Sudan's only functioning airport.

Burhan's trip follows multiple diplomatic efforts to end the war in Sudan, with a series of US- and Saudi-brokered ceasefires systematically violated.

In July, Egypt, which has received more than 285,000 refugees from its neighbour, hosted a crisis meeting attended by African leaders to seek a solution.

Analysts say the international allies of both sides are set to play crucial roles, with Egypt and Turkey firmly on the army's side and the United Arab Emirates and Russian mercenary group Wagner among those accused of supporting the RSF.

After Egypt, speculation has mounted that Burhan will next travel to Saudi Arabia, which has positioned itself as a mediator also "in opposition to the UAE's plan" to back the RSF, said Magdi el-Gizouli, a researcher with the Rift Valley Institute.

Conservative estimates from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project show nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the more than four-month Sudan war.

The United Nations says more than 4.6 million people have been uprooted by the fighting, fleeing inside Sudan as well as to neighbouring countries.

Many of the million people who have crossed borders are living in "increasingly desperate conditions," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Tuesday in South Sudan, where more than 230,000 people have sought safety.

bur/hkb/bha/it/jsa