The leader of Sudan’s army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, travelled to Egypt on Tuesday for his first foreign visit since clashes erupted in April between his troops and a militia group.

He met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a key supporter, to talk about the Egyptian offer to help resolve the conflict.

Burhan’s trip coincided with reports of 39 civilians killed by shelling in Nyala, the main city of South Darfur state, where the violence between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has escalated.

On Monday, the general accused the “rebel groups” of committing war crimes in their bid to take power and said he would never agree to a deal with them.

But in Egypt, he said the army wanted to stop the fighting.

“We in the armed forces are determined to establish a real transitional period for the Sudanese people to build the state through free and fair elections that allow them to choose who will govern,” he said.

Sisi’s office said he had “reiterated Egypt’s firm stance in backing Sudan and supporting its security, stability and territorial integrity”.

The war between Burhan and his former deputy-turned-enemy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces, has killed thousands of Sudanese and displaced millions.

Daglo on Sunday released a 10-point “vision” to end the war and create “a new state”, with the plan proposing “civilian rule based on democratic norms” and “a single, professional, national military institution”.

Burhan had been allied with Daglo when he seized power in a 2021 coup that disrupted a fragile transition to civilian rule.

The coup overturned a transition carefully negotiated between military and civilian leaders after the 2019 removal of longtime dictator, Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan’s visit to Egypt follows several diplomatic efforts to end the violence in Sudan, and a series of unsuccessful US- and Saudi-mediated truces.