The Chairman of the Sovereignty Council and Commander of the Sudanese Army, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, arrived in South Sudan to meet with President Salva Kiir, as part of Burhan's second foreign visit since the outbreak of war in his country last April.

The Sudanese Sovereign Council announced in a statement that Burhan will discuss the conflict in Sudan with Kiir.

Tensions erupted between the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, last April, evolving into open fighting in the capital.

The fighting turned Khartoum into an urban battlefield, and neither side was able to control the city.

Estimates indicate that the conflict has resulted in the deaths of at least 400,000 people, according to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, although activists and doctors say the death toll is much higher.

The International Organization for Migration stated that over 4.8 million people have been displaced due to the conflict, including more than 3.8 million who have fled to safer areas within Sudan, while over a million have crossed into neighboring countries.
Burhan is accompanied on his visit to Juba by acting Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq, Lieutenant General Ahmed Ibrahim Mufdal, Director of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service, and other military leaders, according to the Sovereign Council.

Early in the ongoing war in Sudan, South Sudan's President Kiir attempted to mediate between the warring generals as part of an initiative from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc consisting of 8 members, including Sudan.

Burhan met last week with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the Egyptian coastal city of El Alamein, marking Burhan's first foreign visit since the war began.

Estimates indicate that the battles resulted in the deaths of 25 people from both sides in Khartoum during the past 48 hours.