A video has been circulating online claiming that Sudan’s military leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has recently visited El Geneina, West Darfur State. The post was false. However, al-Burhan has recently visited Blue Nile State.
Radio Tamazuj found that the video is misleading. The video was posted here on Twitter and received over 80 tweets with more than 600 engagements from people who liked and commented.
“Al-Burhan appears in El Geneina. Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces #Al-Burhan,” the post claims. ظهور البرهان في الجنينه القائد العام للقوات المسلحة #البرهان
While most people who reacted to the video questioned the post’s authenticity, most readers retweeted and liked the misleading post.
On 31th October, Gen. al-Burhan appeared in a video while addressing his troops at the Wadi Saydna military base in Omdurman city, following a sudden return from Port Sudan.
Several citizens and officials in the Darfur region who spoke to Radio Tamazuj said Al-Burhan had not visited any part of Darfur since the war broke out on 15 April.
“The video post in circulation is misleading. Burhan has not come to Darfur. I had never heard of him here at all,” a local official said.
On September 9th 2023, the governor of Blue Nile is seen accompanying Al-Burhan on an inspection visit to the 4th Infantry Division in Damazin, Blue Nile. The same photos (1mage2) posted on this Facebook page corresponds with the screenshot of the misleading video.
Such misleading posts online can potentially confuse the Sudanese population who desperately need credible information in this devastating war.