{"id":59972,"date":"2026-01-14T15:51:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=59972"},"modified":"2026-01-14T15:51:36","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T12:51:36","slug":"afwerki-in-his-most-dangerous-interview-on-the-sudan-war-the-future-of-the-army-islamists-the-intervention-of-six-countries-and-his-advice-to-al-burhan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/14\/afwerki-in-his-most-dangerous-interview-on-the-sudan-war-the-future-of-the-army-islamists-the-intervention-of-six-countries-and-his-advice-to-al-burhan\/","title":{"rendered":"Afwerki in His Most Dangerous Interview on the Sudan War: The Future of the Army, Islamists, the Intervention of Six Countries, and His Advice to Al-Burhan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki said that the multiple initiatives seeking to mediate in Sudan are contributing to prolonging the war.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He explained that these initiatives come under various guises \u2014 sometimes wearing the mask of the Quad Mechanism, at other times that of the United Nations, the African Union, or the European Union, and occasionally appearing as bilateral initiatives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In an interview with Eritrean state television on Monday evening, Afwerki called on all initiatives to distance themselves from Sudanese affairs and allow Sudan the opportunity to emerge from its crisis by having the army complete the management of the transitional period, until power is handed over to the people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Eritrean president said that the multiplicity of initiatives works to extend the war through repeated calls for truces and ceasefires, describing the humanitarian discourse as \u201ccrocodile tears\u201d shed by parties he accused of bearing responsibility for what is happening.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He questioned the objectives of the Quad Mechanism, noting that there are many details related to it that he did not wish to elaborate on. He also questioned the rationale behind Saudi Arabia\u2019s inclusion of the United States in the Jeddah initiative, and attempts to portray the war in Sudan as a civil war between two generals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki said that the Neighboring Countries Initiative, proposed by Egypt, contained sound visions for addressing the situation in Sudan but eventually faded away, questioning why Saudi Arabia was not invited to participate in that initiative.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Radio Dabanga, Afwerki stated that what is taking place in Sudan is not a war between two generals nor an internal conflict within the army, but rather external intervention led by the United Arab Emirates through funding and support, along with the participation of several neighboring countries in the scheme, including Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said the plan began with supporting the Rapid Support Forces to ignite the war, smuggling weapons through Libya, bringing in equipment and mercenaries from Chad, in addition to preparing forces in the Central African Republic and South Sudan, ultimately aiming to target the Blue Nile via Ethiopia.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki stressed that the war that erupted in Sudan is unjustified and unacceptable, aimed at destabilizing the Red Sea region, and has led to the collapse of the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said Eritrea had submitted written papers to Sudan\u2019s Transitional Sovereignty Council calling for political forces not to participate in the transitional period until the constitution is finalized and power is handed over to the people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Addressing Sudanese political forces, he said: \u201cThe presence of the army is temporary, and there is no meaning to conflict with the military institution.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He called for avoiding a repetition of past mistakes, foremost among them the secession of South Sudan, stressing that the collapse of Sudan is unacceptable and that the current war is rejected. He accused external powers of seeking to turn Sudan into a launchpad toward the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa, and neighboring countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He emphasized that peace and stability in Sudan have a major impact on all countries in the region.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki stressed the need for Sudan to emerge from this predicament and reach safety, calling for an end to political bickering until power is handed over to the people, adding: \u201cSudan\u2019s stability is a gain for everyone.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Eritrean president said his country\u2019s position on Sudan stems from the belief that it is \u201can internal issue that primarily concerns the Sudanese people,\u201d but he asserted that the entity capable of managing the transitional phase is \u201cthe army.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Afwerki said the army\u2019s mission to govern during the transition would end with the completion of that period, stating: \u201cThe army will not be a party to political competition or conflict in the future. Its task is to lead Sudan to safety by laying out a roadmap lasting two, three, or four years, during which broad consultations will take place on the nature of the political system, followed by a referendum so that the people choose their government, at which point the military institution exits the political scene.\u201d He added: \u201cWe believe this is the best solution, and there is no more logical alternative.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki described the situation in Sudan as marked by \u201csophistry and political farce,\u201d saying it has not benefited from the richness of political culture that characterized the country during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He said: \u201cFor Sudan to reach this level is deeply saddening and almost unbelievable \u2014 closer to children\u2019s play.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He sharply criticized the emergence of what he called \u201cself-proclaimed experts,\u201d describing their appearance as \u201cextremely depressing,\u201d especially given Sudan\u2019s wealth of resources and rich political culture. He considered this phenomenon an extension of the legacy of the National Congress Party over the past thirty years, saying: \u201cThe rule of the past three decades is what led Sudan to this degraded state.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He traced the roots of the crisis back to 1983 during the rule of former President Jaafar Nimeiri, when Nimeiri announced the implementation of what he called \u201cIslamic Sharia laws,\u201d with Islamists led by their late leader Hassan al-Turabi \u2014 Nimeiri\u2019s adviser \u2014 participating in the regime and drafting those laws. Afwerki said this marked the beginning of Sudan\u2019s transformation into a haven for Al-Qaeda and other groups, adding: \u201cThis is what brought the country to its current deplorable condition.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThis was a problem that could have been addressed within a unified Sudan\u2026 but misguided approaches led the South to where it is today.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki described the December 2018 revolution as a \u201cspontaneous uprising\u201d in which the people overthrew the regime without planning, political leadership, or political programs, resulting in what he called a \u201cpolitical vacuum.\u201d During that period, the crises of the former regime erupted in the form of \u201cregional or tribal patterns,\u201d worsened by the absence of radical solutions, turning into a \u201cheavy legacy\u201d that necessitates a transitional phase capable of addressing these accumulated crises.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He denounced what he termed the \u201cconflict between civilians and the military\u201d in Sudan, saying: \u201cBy what logic can there be a conflict between civilians and the military? How can all of Sudan\u2019s accumulated crises be ignored in favor of focusing on a supposed conflict between civilians and military leaders as the core of the political crisis?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki warned against foreign intervention in Sudanese affairs, saying: \u201cThe worst thing that can happen under these complex and turbulent conditions is external intervention.\u201d He added: \u201cSudanese political forces \u2014 whether traditional parties, so-called liberation movements, professional associations, or trade unions \u2014 already have enough accumulated problems, then external factors come to make matters even worse.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He described what is happening in Sudan as the harvest of thirty years of Islamist rule, saying: \u201cThe problems they claimed to solve have escalated dramatically, bringing Sudan to its current state of hunger, high prices, and currency collapse, making it an object of ridicule.\u201d He added: \u201cThere is nothing more miserable and heartbreaking than this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki stressed the importance of Sudanese consensus on mechanisms and exits from the current crisis, away from foreign interference. He said: \u201cExternal interventions must stop, and responsibility lies primarily with Sudanese nationalists. If they so desire, managing the transitional period is not that complicated.\u201d He added: \u201cSudanese patriots must assume responsibility, learn from the mistakes of the past four decades, and define the future direction, instead of receiving lessons and lectures from abroad.\u201d He continued: \u201cBecause of interventions, Sudanese affairs have become a playground where anyone can issue opinions at will.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Afwerki pointed to the impact of Sudan\u2019s situation on Eritrea, saying: \u201cIt cannot be claimed that Sudan\u2019s affairs do not affect us. Sudan\u2019s role during the armed struggle and after independence was deeply intertwined with ours.\u201d He added: \u201cThere was once a hope that the peoples of Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti would work together, but that dream has faded.\u201d He concluded: \u201cThere is no alternative to cooperation among these peoples. Therefore, Sudan must emerge from its current predicament through a clear vision that closes the door to external interventions.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki said that the multiple initiatives seeking to mediate in Sudan are contributing to prolonging the war. He explained that these initiatives come under various guises \u2014 sometimes wearing the mask of the Quad Mechanism, at other times that of the United Nations, the African Union, or the European Union, and occasionally …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59973,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59972\/revisions\/59973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}