Sudan's Al-Burhan jets to Juba for talks with Kiir

Gen. Al-Burhan (L) and President Kiir (R) after the Sudanese leader landed in Juba on Monday. (Courtesy photo)

The Chairman of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Monday morning arrived in Juba to discuss with President Salva Kiir the crisis in Sudan, a statement from the office of the president said.

This is only Gen. Al-Burhan's second trip outside Sudan since the conflict erupted in Khartoum on 15 April. He was in Egypt last week and held talks with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in the Egyptian coastal city of el-Alamein.

Sudanese Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Ali al-Sadiq who accompanied Al-Burhan to Juba said they feel South Sudan is better placed to mediate the Sudanese conflict.

“We in Sudan feel that South Sudan is the best country to meditate the conflict in Sudan because we have been one country for so long and we know each other,” he said. “We know the problems and we know our needs.”

For his part, South Sudan's Cabinet Affairs Minister Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro said it is in the interest of South Sudan to find a solution to the crisis in Sudan.

“It is known that President Kiir is the only person who has intimacy and knowledge about Sudan and can find a solution to the Sudanese crisis,” he said. “President Kiir is better placed to meditate on the problems in Sudan and has a solution in his hands to resolve the conflict.”

Gen. Al-Burhan is accompanied by Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Ali al-Sadiq and Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadel, the head of the General Intelligence Authority, and other senior military officers.

Fighting broke out in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on 15 April between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and has since spread to other parts of the country.