Sudan Armed Forces General Yasser Al-Atta has challenged President William Ruto to engage the Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) in a fight, escalating animosity that has been simmering for months.
In a video posted online, General Al-Atta mocked Ruto and told him not to join East African forces conducting a joint operation in the troubled Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The Al-Atta faction has accused Kenya’s president of funding the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting for control of Khartoum since the transitional government collapsed.
Mohamed Hamdan ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, the RSF’s leader, has been accused by the Yasir unit of being a close ally of Kenya’s president.
“The state (Kenya) that supports you (RSF) and the mercenaries like you with money must also bring its army… leave the East African forces and come with your army to intervene and we are waiting for you,” Al-Atta stated.
After being appointed by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), SAF rejected Ruto as a mediator in the ongoing conflict. Instead, SAF has asked South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit to lead the mediation team.
In his address, the General also criticised the presence of an East African force tasked with protecting civilians and aid workers in Khartoum as the war continues.
Sudan’s military rulers have also blamed an unnamed Gulf country for supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
General Alatta stated that the army’s ultimate goal was to keep a united Sudan “free from the Janjaweed menace.”
He emphasised that they do not seek to govern; rather, the political forces must come to an agreement and govern the country.
“Sudan is not a game of every unscrupulous politician, profiteer, and mercenary,” he added.
The army has deployed infantry forces in Khartoum to launch ground operations against RASF militiamen as the war enters its 100th day. The military has also established volunteer training camps in the Sudanese states of northern, eastern, and central Sudan.
Meanwhile, the pro-democracy coalition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) is holding its first meeting in Cairo since the war in Sudan began.
