Sudanese General Threatens to Neutralise Kenyan Soldiers, Rift with Nairobi Intensifies

Sudanese Army General Yassir al-Atta has vowed to neutralize Kenyan troops in a video released on Monday, 24 July.

The threat was issued after IGAD proposed to deploy East African troops to Sudan’s capital

Khartoum to help end the war that has raged there for over 3 months since April 15, 2023.

The war has killed over 1,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million in Sudan since army chief and de-facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo who leads the RSF paramilitary force started fighting in April.

“Leave the East African forces where they are. Bring the Kenyan army … I swear to god, not one

of them would make it back,” said Sudanese General Yassir al-Atta (number 2 in command) in

comments to troops on Monday, according to Reuters.

Sudan has previously said any foreign peacekeepers would be treated as aggressors.

General Yassir al-Atta also accused President Ruto of “being a mercenary for another country” which also supports the RSF, without offering any details.

Sudan’s army has previously also accused an unnamed Gulf country of supporting the RSF.

Kenya Criticizes Yassir’s Comments

This statement is unworthy of our comment; Kenya’s foreign affairs principal secretary Korir Sing’oei retorted, adding that Kenya is neutral. Sing’oei also suggested that some elements in the military may not be comfortable with a genuine peace process that involves civilian actors and the return of civilian government in Sudan.

“By insisting that durable peace will only be realised through the inclusion of civilian actors in any mediation process and calling on accountability for atrocities, some in Sudan may find these principles difficult to accept,” he added.

General Yassir’s threat to destroy Kenyan troops is the latest escalation in the war of words between Khartoum and Nairobi, which seems to have been triggered by President Ruto’s May,

17 statements to the Pan-African parliament in South Africa, where a tough-talking Ruto told

Sudanese warring Generals to stop the ‘nonsense’.

“These generals are bombing everything, roads, hospitals, bridges, and destroying the airport using military hardware bought with African money. We need to tell those generals to stop the nonsense”, said Ruto.

Ruto added that military capacity is for fighting criminals and terrorists, not for fighting women and children and destroying our own infrastructure.

Ruto was appointed by IGAD to lead the peace process in Sudan, but Sudan has rejected this, accusing Ruto of being a business partner of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. It also accuses Kenya of supporting the RSF.

Khartoum has repeatedly rejected any mediation or peacekeeping proposals and wants President Ruto replaced as the chairman of the IGAD quartet comprising the leaders of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Djibouti before it allows peace talks.

However, Sudan’s de facto ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, told President Ruto by phone that he is ready for a ceasefire once RSF soldiers are removed from Khartoum.

Since the RSF is unwilling to accept this, the fighting looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.