Khartoum, Feb 20 (IANS): Commander of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has stressed his forces' commitment to merge into the Sudanese army as stipulated in the framework agreement signed by civilian and political leaders in December last year.

"We are committed to what was stipulated in the framework agreement to merge the Rapid Support Forces into the army according to agreed timetables," said Dagalo, also the Deputy Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, at a press conference in the capital Khartoum.

"We will not allow the elements of the defunct regime to drive a wedge between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. I say to them that they will never be able to achieve that," he added.

Dagalo highlighted the need to reach a settlement regarding a civilian government in Sudan and the return of the military to the barracks, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said the political framework agreement is the only way out of the current crisis and the only basis for a fair political solution.

On December 5, 2022, Sudan's military and civilian leaders signed a political framework agreement to end the political impasse and institute a two-year transitional civilian authority.

The agreement stipulates the integration of the RSF into the Sudanese army according to agreed timetables.

Sudan has been suffering a political crisis since Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, the Commander of the Sudanese army, declared a state of emergency on October 25, 2021, and dissolved the sovereign council and the government.