I swear to god, not one would make it back: Sudanese general warns Kenya against sending peacekeepers

A Kenyan-led proposal, communicated on Monday through a video, suggesting that East Africans could help end a more than 100-day war in Sudan was strongly rejected by the Sudanese general who warned them against sending peacekeepers.

Similar to the Kenyan proposal, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces it is fighting have received multiple international mediation offers, but none have succeeded in ending or even significantly pausing the fighting that broke out on 15 April, reports Reuters.

Earlier this month, IGAD, an East African regional bloc of which Kenya is a member, proposed an initiative that would include the deployment of peacekeepers in the capital Khartoum.

According to Reuters, the Sudanese army has repeatedly rejected the Kenyan-led initiative, accusing the regional power of supporting the RSF.

It has said it would consider any foreign peacekeepers as enemy forces.

"Leave the East African forces where they are. Bring the Kenyan army ... I swear to god, not one of them would make it back," said Sudanese General Yassir al-Atta in comments to troops.

He also accused Kenya of being bought off by a third country, which he did not identify.

"This statement is unworthy of our comment," Kenya's foreign affairs principal secretary Korir Sing'Oei said. The accusations were unfounded, he said, and that his country was neutral.

"By insisting that durable peace will only be realised through the inclusion of civilian actors in any mediation process and calling on accountability for atrocities, some in Sudan may find these principles difficult to accept," he added.

The fighting in Khartoum State continued on Monday. A neighbourhood committee in Ombada said at least 15 people had been killed in strikes in Omdurman, says Reuters.

In the Kalakla area in southern Khartoum, the local committee said that RSF forces had besieged the area.