Sudan’s Burhan arrives in Turkey on heels of Eritrea visit, key victories
The talks come after a major military victory for the Sudanese army in Khartoum against the Rapid Support Forces, who are currently attempting to cement their stronghold in Darfur.
Sudan’s de facto leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrived Friday morning in the Turkish city of Antalya as the Sudanese army is gaining the upper hand in the country’s brutal civil war.
What happened: Burhan and Foreign Minister Ali Youssif arrived in Turkey to attend the fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, alongside other leaders including Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan.
While in Turkey, Burhan will also meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “to review the course of bilateral relations and ways to enhance, develop, and strengthen them,” according to Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council, the country’s de facto government.
Burhan’s visit to Turkey follows a meeting with another key backer, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. On Thursday afternoon, Burhan arrived in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, for talks with Afwerki, who “re-affirmed” Eritrea’s support for Sudan, according to a statement from its Ministry of Information.
Afwerki “urged the peoples of our region to firmly stand on the side of the Sudanese people for the achievement of an enduring peaceful solution to the conflict without the encumbrance and exacerbation of external intervention,” the statement said.
Speaking to Eritrean reporters after the meeting, Burhan said, “I would like to thank the leadership of Eritrea and Mr. President Isaias for the continuous support that they continue to offer to the people of Sudan.” He also told the Eritrean News Agency that his one-day working visit was “principally aimed at briefing the Eritrean leadership on recent developments of the conflict in Sudan.”
Why it matters: The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Burhan, maintains close ties with Turkey. While Ankara has positioned itself as a potential mediator between the SAF and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), it has largely backed the military.
In October 2024, the Sudan Tribune reported that the army had received two Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones, which a source said were deployed in Khartoum state, where government forces recently claimed a significant victory. Since late 2023, Turkey has sold over $120 million in drones to Sudan, according to the Washington Post.
The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned combat drone capable of carrying a 330-pound payload. The drones have reportedly been used to strike RSF logistics hubs, artillery positions and response units. In February, a senior officer told the Middle East Eye that “with the arrival of the drones, the RSF’s superiority ended.”
The Chairman of Sudan's Sovereign Council, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrived in Asmara in the early afternoon hours today for a working visit.
— Yemane G. Meskel 🇪🇷 (@hawelti) April 10, 2025
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his delegation were accorded warm welcome by President Isaias Afwerki on their arrival at… pic.twitter.com/YpNIon00LM
Eritrea, on the other hand, has been a key regional partner for the SAF, especially as the RSF is allegedly backed by several of Sudan’s neighbors, including Chad, Libya’s National Army, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and the more distant United Arab Emirates. Since the conflict began in April 2023, Eritrea has consistently voiced strong support for the SAF.
Know more: Burhan’s talks with Erdogan and Afwerki come just weeks after the SAF regained control of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, putting the RSF on the backfoot. The RSF had held the capital for nearly the entire war — controlling key sites including the Presidential Palace and Khartoum International Airport — and had forced the de facto government to relocate to Port Sudan. Now, the army has driven the RSF out of the area.
However, the RSF continues to hold territory in western Sudan, particularly in Darfur. The group is now advancing toward El Fasher, the last city in Darfur still under army control. El Fasher has been effectively besieged by the RSF for months, with all supply routes blocked and tens of thousands of civilians displaced in and around the city, according to a UN report from late March.
On Thursday, an RSF spokesperson said the group had taken control of the town of Um Kadadah, located in North Darfur near El Fasher.
The conflict in Sudan has resulted in an estimated death toll of up to 150,000, according to figures from the US government and Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab. As of February, the UN reported that more than 12.5 million people — nearly a quarter of the population — have been displaced. Both the RSF and the Sudanese military have been accused of committing atrocities. In early January, the US State Department labeled the RSF’s actions in Darfur as genocide and imposed sanctions on its leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. A week later, the US sanctioned Burhan as well, accusing him of war crimes.
