UNITED NATIONS — Sudan’s military leader is openly defying a U.S.-backed ceasefire push after Washington withheld his visa to attend the U.N.General Assembly, exposing a widening rift over a war that has become not only one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, but also a regional struggle for influence stretching to the Red Sea.Gen.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s armed forces and de facto leader, had been expected in New York during UNGA before the Trump administration withheld his visa amid a dispute over a proposed 90-day humanitarian truce.Days later, Burhan struck a defiant tone from Khartoum."We will keep our heads high.
We will not accept bargaining, sell ourselves cheaply to anyone or bow to anyone," Burhan said Saturday, according to Anadolu Agency."We do not need a visa to any country or anyone’s permission."WORLD LEADERS DESCEND ON NEW YORK FOR UNGA — BUT WHO REALLY HAS AMERICA’S EAR?Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan gestures to soldiers inside the presidential palace after the Sudanese army said it had taken control of the building, in the capital Khartoum, Sudan March 26, 2025.
(Sudan Transitional Sovereignty Council/Handout via Reuters)The State Department has accused both Burhan’s Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, of failing to make serious commitments to an immediate truce."Neither the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces, nor their respective leaders, represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said Sept.22, adding that the conduct of both leaders renders them "ineligible to govern the country."The State Department said both sides had instead intensified combat operations and drone strikes that killed civilians and said Washington had repeatedly asked them to accept a humanitarian truce "without preconditions" and commit to an inclusive political dialogue leading to civilian government.B...