Sudan: RSF leader Hemetti accuses rival national army of ethnic cleansing, genocide
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA - The leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, on Tuesday accused the Sudanese army of committing “ethnic cleansing and genocide” and threatened to target any aircraft from neighbouring countries used in attacks.
Sudan news outlet, Sudan Tribune, said in a lengthy televised address, Daglo, known as Hemetti, said attacks on tribal administrations and community leaders, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, were a deliberate effort to “wipe tribes off the map”.
“When we talk about targeting tribal administrations, we mean ethnic cleansing and genocide… an entire tribe cannot be targeted with the aim of exterminating it,” he said, citing a specific attack on the Muzrub tribe as a “real genocide”.
Sudan Tribune said in a significant escalation, Hemetti issued a direct warning to unnamed neighbouring countries against allowing their territory to be used for attacks against his forces.
“An important message, we have been silent for a long time… any plane taking off from any airport in any neighbouring country to drop supplies, to strike, or to kill, and any drone taking off from any airport, is a legitimate target for us,” he stated in the rare television broadcast. “We are certain of this, and if we were not, we would not have said it.”
Hemetti described the leadership of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) as a “satanic movement” and a “cancer” that must be removed, accusing them of hypocrisy and deceiving the Sudanese people.
He also levelled personal accusations against army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, calling him the “leader of the Islamist movement in the army”, a “criminal and a murderer”, and claiming knowledge of his secret meetings with leaders of the former regime.
The RSF commander reiterated his call for an “international committee of inquiry” into all “massacres” and crimes of “ethnic cleansing” since the conflict began on April 15.
He concluded his speech by calling on the Sudanese people to “get rid of this criminal”, referring to al-Burhan, and urged his own forces to head to the “battlefields”, asserting that “victory is coming”.
Sudan’s civil war pits the SAF against the RSF – once allies who turned their weapons on each other in April 2023. Fighting has displaced more than ten million people, destroyed large parts of Khartoum and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Gen. al-Burhan, who the Chairman of the Sovereign Council, talking tough on Tuesday after inspecting damage caused to Khartoum Airport that was struck by RSF's drone earlier in the day stressed that his government welcomes peace based on firm national foundations but rejects any future role for “mercenary militias (RSF)” and those who support them.
He said that these principles should be observed in any proposed initiative, adding, “Our position is clear and we will not favour anyone in this regard.”
According to a statement from the Sudanese Armed Forces spokesman’s office, Gen. al-Burhan praised the Sudanese people and their steadfastness in the face of “the crimes of the terrorist Al-Daglo militia”.
He said that the enemies of the people had not read history because they were interlopers on Sudan and its people, and the Sudanese soil is a land of glory.
He stressed that "the brutal Al-Daglo gang will not prevail against our people and our forces are capable of providing protection and security for the people of Sudan”.
“We are determined to eliminate this rebellion and will not allow the rebels to return again,” he said.
The tough talk by leaders of the warring sides puts a lot of stress on international efforts to end the bloodshed.
The European Union Council on Monday strongly condemned the ongoing conflict in Sudan and called on all parties to the bloody war to take necessary steps to end it.
In a statement following a meeting of its foreign ministers on Monday, the EU Council noted that the war has been causing the loss of thousands of lives and immense hardship for the Sudanese people for more than two years, and poses a serious threat to stability and security across the wider region.
“The EU is extremely concerned about the unity, territorial integrity and stability of Sudan, which are at serious risk, with increasing fragmentation along political and ethnic lines further exacerbated by the emergence of parallel governing structures,” the statement said.
The EU stressed that it rejects any attempt to partition the East African nation.
The EU Council's conclusions emphasise that “the primary responsibility for ending the conflict lies with the leadership of both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and those supporting these entities”.
The Quad on Sudan's war – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States of America – have repeatedly called for an end to the war stressing that they see no military solution being reached.
They have stressed that the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the Sudan should remain intact, warning that the conflict has provoked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and poses grave risks to regional peace and security.
They agreed that “there is no viable military solution to the conflict, and the status quo creates unacceptable suffering and risks to peace and security”.
The Sudanese government said in reaction to the Quad's statement that it welcomed the principle of helping the country reach peace, but rejected any attempts to impose it from outside or to infringe on the national sovereignty.
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in a statement stressed that the “government of Sudan does not accept any international or regional interventions that do not respect the sovereignty of the Sudanese state and its legitimate institutions supported by the Sudanese people, and its right to defend its people and its land”.
The statement also stressed that the government rejects any attempt to equate it with the paramilitary RSF.
-0- PANA MA 22Oct2025
