SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has again vowed to continue the war until the Rapid Support Forces are eliminated, even as the country sinks deeper into economic collapse, fuel shortages, power cuts and soaring food prices.
Speaking to worshippers at the mosque of Sheikh Al-Khalifa Ali Barakat in Al-Eilafoun, east of Khartoum, Burhan said the SAF would regain control of all Sudanese territory and defeat what he described as a rebellion.
His remarks came as ordinary Sudanese face a rapidly worsening cost-of-living crisis under the Port Sudan authorities. The Sudanese pound has plunged to unprecedented levels, with the dollar nearing 6,000 pounds on the parallel market, while bread prices have jumped again, with one loaf now selling for around 350 pounds.
The latest increase means a basic item once sold in bundles is now becoming unaffordable for many families, after bakers blamed higher flour costs and fuel prices, with a gallon of fuel reportedly reaching 40,000 pounds in some areas.
Yet Burhan urged citizens not to “complain” about electricity and fuel shortages, saying the current crises, however difficult, could not be compared to the “catastrophes” caused by the war.
The comments are likely to fuel further anger among Sudanese civilians, who have watched the SAF leadership continue to frame the war as a national liberation campaign while the state collapses around them. For millions of families, the crisis is no longer only about battlefield maps, but about whether they can buy bread, find fuel, charge a phone or keep a refrigerator running.
Burhan also repeated accusations that foreign actors were seeking to weaken Sudan, but offered no credible plan to address the country’s economic freefall or the breakdown of basic services in areas under SAF control.
The Rapid Support Forces control most of Darfur, West Kordofan and positions in South and North Kordofan and the Blue Nile region, while the SAF continues attempts to regain territory lost during the conflict.
No official response from the Sudan Founding Alliance, known as TASIS, was immediately found regarding Burhan’s latest remarks. However, the alliance and its affiliated Peace Government have repeatedly presented themselves as an alternative authority in areas outside Port Sudan’s control, while accusing the SAF leadership of prolonging the war and deepening Sudan’s fragmentation.
