War-torn Sudan's army chief meets Qatar ruler in diplomatic push

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan met Qatar's emir on Thursday during his third trip abroad since war broke out in April, after also visiting Egypt and South Sudan in recent days.

Burhan, whose troops are fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), had spent months under siege inside the military headquarters in Khartoum and stayed in conflict-hit Sudan until late August.

In Doha, he received a red carpet welcome and discussed "the latest developments in the situation and challenges facing Sudan" with the Emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, a Qatari royal court statement said.

Burhan left Doha on Thursday afternoon, the official Qatar News Agency said.

The war between Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed at least 5,000 people, according to a conservative estimate from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.

Late on Wednesday, Burhan issued a decree dissolving the RSF, while the United States slapped sanctions on senior commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, the brother of the paramilitary leader.

The Transitional Sovereignty Council, headed by Burhan, said the decree was "based on the repercussions of these forces' rebellion against the state, the grave violations they committed against citizens, and the deliberate sabotage of the country's infrastructure".

Burhan made his first foray outside army headquarters last month and has visited regional allies in recent weeks.

Since leaving the capital Khartoum, he has been based in Port Sudan, an eastern city that has been spared the fighting.

Government officials and the United Nations have similarly relocated to the coastal city which hosts Sudan's only functioning airport.

Late last month, as rumours swirled of negotiations aimed at ending the crisis, Burhan flew to Egypt, historically his closest ally, followed by a visit to South Sudan this week.

"The significance of (the trips abroad) is to confirm the legitimacy of Burhan with the international community," Ashraf Abdulaziz, editor-in-chief of independent Sudanese daily Al-Jarida, told AFP.

Daglo called the sanctions against him "unfair" in comments on Thursday to Sky News Arabia.