A bizarre warning was delivered by Sudan’s SAF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, whose strange choice of words and heavy-handed tone quickly became the subject of ridicule across Sudanese political circles.
“If you don’t want to open your eyes, we will close them for you.”
Burhan delivered the line during a Ramadan iftar event with military commanders, apparently attempting to warn political actors against speaking on behalf of the Sudanese state or armed forces. Instead, the statement became a symbol of the confused messaging and authoritarian posture that critics say has come to define Sudan’s wartime leadership.
The SAF chief insisted the government would not allow any group to represent the Sudanese army or the Sudanese state without its approval.
But the remarks came amid growing tension within pro-SAF circles after Islamist figures — including Al-Naji Abdullah and figures linked to the Al-Baraa militia — publicly voiced support for Iran in the expanding regional conflict.
Some of them even suggested the possibility of travelling to Tehran to fight alongside Iranian forces, comments that appear to have embarrassed Sudan’s military leadership and complicated its relations with Gulf states.
Burhan attempted to reassure Gulf allies during the speech, praising what he described as their “great role” and “white hands” in supporting Sudan, while condemning any attacks or insults directed at them.
Yet the tone of his warning — particularly the bizarre promise to “close the eyes” of those who refuse to “open” them — highlighted the increasingly confrontational rhetoric coming from Sudan’s military leadership.
Critics say the statement reflects a broader pattern: a government that frequently invokes peace and stability while simultaneously threatening anyone who challenges its narrative.
For many Sudanese observers, the moment was less about discipline or national unity and more about the strange spectacle of a country’s wartime leader issuing cryptic threats that sound closer to playground intimidation than serious statecraft.
