Sudan military chief Burhan to visit Sisi in Egypt: diplomatic source

Sudan army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan will arrive in the Egyptian city of New Alamein on Saturday to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, an Egyptian diplomatic source said.

The trip is Burhan’s first foreign visit since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April.

The unnamed source, who spoke to The New Arab’s Arabic-language service, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, said the Sudanese leader will be received at the airport with full protocol for official visits.

Burhan will then head to Saudi Arabia directly from Egypt after his talks with Sisi, the source added.

A trip to the United Arab Emirates is also on Burhan’s schedule.

On Thursday, video released by the military showed Burhan outside of the army command compound in Khartoum for the first time since the beginning if the war.

The army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the capital and several major cities since 15 April. Attempts to mediate have proven fruitless as diplomats say both sides still believe they can win.

While the RSF has dominated Khartoum and its sister cities on the ground, the army has used air power to try to dislodge the paramilitary forces from key areas.

Attempts to mediate have proven fruitless as diplomats say both sides still believe they can win. More than 4 million people have fled their homes, basic services have collapsed, and the fighting has given way to ethnic attacks by the RSF and allied militias in Darfur.