General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto ruler of Sudan, arrived in Qatar Thursday on an official visit to discuss the ongoing crisis in his country. The trip, which comes after similar visits to Egypt and South Sudan in recent days, has prompted speculation that he is willing to seek a negotiated solution to the war that has been raging since April 15 between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

By making three high-profile trips abroad in less than a week, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has fuelled rumours that negotiations may be underway to end the war between his troops and the RSF forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a former ally – notably during the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan to power – turned political rival.

In late August, on his first official trip since the start of the conflict, Burhan was received by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo.

Sisi has been Burhan’s main international ally since the coup d’état that brought him to power. As mediation attempts led by Saudi Arabia and the United States failed, Egypt offered to facilitate discussions between Sudanese belligerents and, in July, created a group of Sudan's neighbours and six other countries to find solutions to the violent conflict.

Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
Cannes movie explores roots of Sudan bloodshed, making festival history
Dozens of civilians killed in past two days in Sudan's Khartoum
Sudan’s military chief Burhan visits Egypt as deadly violence grips Darfur