Sudan's RSF agrees to US proposal for humanitarian ceasefire

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has agreed to a US proposal to pause more than two years of civil war with a humanitarian ceasefire.

The RSF said it backed a plan put forward by the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which have proposed a three-month truce followed by a return to civilian rule. The RSF said the move aimed to “address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war and to enhance the protection of civilians”.

“In response to the aspirations and interests of the Sudanese people, the Rapid Support Forces affirms its agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad countries,” the group said, referring to the four powers drawing up peace plans.

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A former Sudanese cabinet minister who is part of the country's civilian movement, Khalid Omar Yousif, told The National there was broad backing for the peace plan but said more pressure on the warring factions to end the fighting was urgently needed. The Sudanese armed force, which has been fighting against the RSF in 2023, has not yet agreed to the ceasefire but said it welcomed the US-led peace efforts.

A US State Department representative told The National that Washington "continues to engage directly with the RSF and SAF [armed forces] to facilitate a humanitarian truce".

"We urge both sides to move forward in response to the US-led effort to conclude a humanitarian truce, given the immediate urgency of de-escalating the violence and ending the suffering of the Sudanese people," the representative said. "We remain committed to working with our partners, including the Quad, to resolve the crisis in Sudan."

The civil war erupted in April 2023 when the Sudanese army and the RSF, who were then partners in power, clashed over plans to integrate their forces.

Appeal for peace

In a memorandum delivered to the UN Security Council this week, 178 Sudanese civil society figures, including Mr Yousif, welcomed the peace plan drawn up by the Quad countries. They also urged the Quad to assert “maximum pressure” on the warring parties.

Mr Yousif served as minister for cabinet affairs under Sudan’s short-lived civilian government in 2019, which was overthrown by the army in 2021. He is part of a civilian movement that has called for a peace process that leads to the return to democracy.

He told The National that the “broad spectrum” of signatories shows there is widespread agreement with the Quad's vision – but also an urgency for the group to press ahead with it.

“This memorandum, signed by 178 academics, artists, journalists, religious leaders, youth, women and political leaders representing a broad spectrum of democratic civilians, affirms that the Quad road map reflects the aspirations of wide segments of the Sudanese people,” he said.

The signatories expressed their full support for the quartet’s latest peace efforts, describing them as “a genuine push towards a just peace” and “a ray of hope to extinguish Sudan’s raging fire”.

The letter warns that nearly 1,000 days of war have reduced towns and villages to ashes and displaced millions, describing it as “a criminal sequence of destruction”. It stresses that “there can be no peace without justice” and calls for full accountability for atrocities, including alleged massacres recently committed in El Fasher, a city in the Darfur region.

Army position

On Wednesday, the Defence Minister in Sudan's army-backed government said the peace efforts were “welcome and appreciated” but that the fight against the RSF would continue.

Hassan Kabroun's comments came in a televised address following a Tuesday night meeting of the security and defence council, led by army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, Sudan's de facto leader.

On Thursday, the RSF said it “also looks forward to implementing the agreement and immediately commencing discussions on the arrangements for a cessation of hostilities and the fundamental principles guiding the political process in Sudan”. It said this should address the root causes of the conflict.

Under the plan, the humanitarian truce would be followed by a longer one and a return to civilian rule from which the Muslim Brotherhood would be excluded.

Sudan's civil war, which is in its third year, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 14 million. About 30 million – more than half the population – are facing hunger, with pockets of famine emerging in some areas.

The fall of the city of El Fasher to the RSF last week after an 18-month siege gave the paramilitary group full control of the Darfur region and entrenched the de facto division of the country. Aside from Darfur, the RSF also holds parts of Kordofan to the south-west, while the army controls the capital Khartoum, as well as the northern, eastern and central regions of Sudan.

Both sides have governments of their own, with the RSF administration based in Darfur and the army-backed authorities in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.