In a rare televised speech, the head of Sudan’s military has accused a rival paramilitary force of committing war crimes as both sides appear no closer to finding a resolution.

Sudan was plunged into conflict in April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere.

In a speech broadcast on Sudan TV on Monday, al-Burhan accused the RSF and Hemedti of committing violations under the falsehood of promising to restore democracy.

“How can you bring about democracy by committing war crimes?” he said in a speech celebrating Sudan’s annual armed forces day.