Colonial powers are fueling Africa’s conflicts – Sudanese leader

General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan says the entire continent is rising up to resist foreign interference

Sudan’s de facto leader and national armed forces commander, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has accused “colonial powers” of fueling conflicts in Africa. His country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2023.

The army chief made the remarks during talks with Guinea-Bissau’s president Umaro Sissoco Embalo, while on a visit to the West African nation’s capital, Bissau, the Sudanese Transitional Sovereign Council (TSC) said on Sunday.

According to the TSC statement, the two leaders talked about bilateral relations and ways to improve cooperation in a variety of fields. The Bissau-Guinean president expressed his desire for “peace in Sudan as soon as possible,” it added.

The northeastern African state has been embroiled in a brutal civil war between the national Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since mid-April 2023, owing to disagreements over its planned transition to civilian rule.

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The conflict, which first broke out in the capital, has spread across the country, triggering what the UN describes as “a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions.” According to a recent report from the global body, the situation in Sudan has reached “devastating levels,” with over 11.5 million people internally displaced and 3.2 million seeking refuge in neighboring countries.

In Bissau on Sunday, General Al-Burhan presented a report on the escalating violence in the country, describing the paramilitary group RSF as a terrorist organization targeting the state and its institutions, his office stated.

“There are colonial powers working to fuel conflicts on the African continent,” the transitional leader said.

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“Africa is now experiencing an awakening, enabling it to resist foreign interference in African affairs. We commend the efforts of some African nations that have risen against both old and modern colonialism,” he added.

Al-Burhan first mentioned a “colonial campaign” against his country when he met Mali’s interim president, Assimi Goita, in Bamako, his first stop on a tour of neighboring African countries that began on Saturday. He is also expected to visit Sierra Leone and Senegal.

“The Malian President affirms his country’s support for Sudan in the face of the targeting it is facing,” the Sudanese Sovereign Council said in a statement on Saturday.

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Sudan was ruled by the UK under the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium from 1899, until it gained independence in 1956. British rule reportedly divided what was once Africa’s largest country in two, with the other half, South Sudan, gaining independence in 2011 after decades of civil war.

On Saturday, General Al-Burhan told his Malian counterpart that Sudan is determined to “fight neo-colonialism” and called for cooperation between Bamako and Khartoum in combating regional terrorism.

Several African nations have in recent years become distrustful of their former colonial rulers. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have all accused their former ruler, France, of aggression, effectively severing defense ties with Paris.