Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan travelled to Egypt on his first trip abroad since fighting began with paramilitaries in April, the country's ruling Sovereign Council said. He departed Sudan on a flight on Tuesday.
General Burhan would hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi "on the latest developments in Sudan and bilateral ties between the two countries", the council said in a statement.
Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when simmering tensions between the military, led by Burhan, and the powerful paramilitary, Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere.
The conflict has reduced the capital to an urban battlefield, with the RSF controlling vast swaths of the city. The military command, where Burhan has purportedly been stationed since April, has been one of the epicenters of the conflict.
Longstanding ties
Burhan managed last week to leave the military headquarters, where he has been stationed since the breakout of the conflict. He visited military facilities in Khartoum's sister city of Omdurman and elsewhere in the country.
Burhan traveled to Egypt from the coastal city of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
Despite months of fighting, neither side has managed to gain control of the capital, Khartoum, or other key areas in the country. Last week, large explosions and plumes of black smoke could be seen above key areas of the capital, including near its airport.
Egypt has longstanding ties with the Sudanese army and its top generals. In July, el-Sissi hosted a meeting of Sudan’s neighbors and announced a plan for a ceasefire. A series of fragile truces, brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, have failed to hold.
The fighting is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to the U.N. human rights office, though activists and doctors on the ground say the death toll is likely far higher.
