FALCON POWERS – The chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, survived an assassination attempt on Wednesday during his participation in a military graduation ceremony in the city of Jabeit in eastern Sudan, according to local media.
Local media outlets, including the news website “Sudan Tribune”, reported that al-Burhan “survived an assassination attempt by a drone in eastern Sudan during the graduation of military students”, without providing further details.
On Wednesday morning, the media of the Sovereign Council stated that al-Burhan, who is also the commander of the army, “is witnessing at the Infantry Institute Stadium in the city of Jabeit in the Red Sea state, the graduation of batches 68 of the Military College and 20 and 23 of the Qualification, Air Force College and the Naval Academy.”
As of 08:30 GMT, there was no official statement regarding the assassination attempt, and no party has claimed responsibility for it.
The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in a war since mid-April 2023, which has left around 18,800 dead and about 10 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.
Recently, cities in safe areas in the states of the River Nile, Northern, White Nile, and Gedaref (east) have witnessed attacks by drones on government headquarters.
There are growing international and UN calls to spare Sudan from a humanitarian disaster that could push millions into famine and death, due to food shortages due to the fighting that has spread to 12 of the country’s 18 states.
According to the official Sudanese news agency on Tuesday evening, the government requested a meeting with the United States to “properly prepare” for the resumption of peace negotiations with the “Rapid Support” forces, and stipulated the implementation of the “Jeddah Declaration”.
On July 23, the US State Department, in a statement, called on the warring parties to participate in ceasefire negotiations mediated by Washington and scheduled to begin in Switzerland on August 14.
Days ago, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”, announced his agreement to participate in these negotiations.
