KHARTOUM (Dispatches) – Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has praised cooperation between the African country and the Zionist regime, despite widespread anger by the people over the close ties.
Speaking in an interview with Sudan’s state-run TV aired on Saturday, Burhan claimed that it was legitimate for Sudanese security and spy agencies to have ties and exchange visits with the occupying regime.
Sudan agreed to normalize ties with the occupying regime in October 2020 as part of the U.S.-led so-called Abraham Accords, a month after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed similar détente deals with Tel Aviv.
Zionist and Sudanese officials have exchanged unannounced visits in recent weeks. Most recently, a Sudanese security delegation visited Tel Aviv last week, following a visit by regime officials, including Mossad spy agency officers, to Khartoum in January.
Protesters have been on the streets for months since Burhan led a military coup in October last year that ended a civilian-military partnership that was meant to lead to democratic elections, a move that was also widely condemned by the international community.
Most of the protesters in Khartoum say they are opposing the normalization of relations with the occupying regime spearheaded by the military junta.
The United Nations has pressured the military to end the crackdown on protesters and restore a civilian-led government to complete the country’s transition.
About 80 people have been killed and thousands injured in the crackdown, according to a count by a pro-democracy group of medics.
“Sanctions and the threat of them are not useful,” Burhan said in the interview, adding that he took personal charge of investigations into the deaths and that five or six were ongoing.
While the coup has been censured everywhere, the regime in Tel Aviv has chosen to be silent. Experts see it as an approval of the Sudanese military’s actions by the Zionist regime.
Sudan was once one of the occupying regime’s fiercest foes in the Arab world and hosted the Arab Summit in Khartoum after the Middle East war in 1967. The resolution of the summit has long been known for the “three NO’s;” no peace with the Zionist regime, no recognition of the Zionist regime, and no negotiations with the Zionist regime.