Sudan's army chief has warned at the United Nations that months of war could spill over in the region as he urged international pressure on the paramilitary unit he is fighting.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan since a 2021 coup, alluded to the rival Rapid Support Forces' ties with Wagner, the Russian mercenary group hit by Western sanctions over alleged abuses in Africa.
"The danger of this war is now a threat to regional and international peace and security as those rebels have sought the support of outlaws and terrorist groups from different countries in the region and the world," Burhan said on Thursday.
"This is like the spark of war, a war that will spill over to other countries in the region," he said.
"Regional and international interference to support these groups is crystal clear by now. This means that this is the first sparkle that will burn the region, and will have a direct impact on regional and international peace and security."
More than 7,500 people dead
War broke out on April 15 after the collapse of a plan to integrate the army and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Burhan's former deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The fighting in Sudan has killed at least 7,500 people, according to the NGO Acled, and displaced some five million people, dealing a new, devastating blow to efforts to bring democracy to Sudan.
Burhan has increasingly been travelling around the world in what are seen as efforts to burnish his legitimacy.
