The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) takeover of the city of El Fasher is a “very important and very worrying development”, said Massad Boulos, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, warning that it could lead to the division of Sudan and have wider repercussions for the region.
The capture of the city in western Darfur could mark a significant turning point in Sudan's war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million.
The developments on the ground are "very worrying because it has implications that go far beyond the military and humanitarian aspects,” the senior adviser on Africa told Sky News Arabia in an interview in Washington on Monday.
“It could be the beginning of a very unfortunate division of Sudan,” Mr Boulos warned.
El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, where more than 250,000 people need humanitarian assistance, was the last army foothold in the vast area. The army chief and de facto ruler of Sudan Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan acknowledged in a TV broadcast late on Monday night that the garrison's troops and allied fighters had left El Fasher to spare the city and its residents “systematic destruction and killing of civilians” after the paramilitary group took over.
The UN has issued warnings of atrocities taking place on the ground and called for safe passage for civilians.
“For President Trump, there are two priorities. The first priority is the humanitarian aspect, meaning that we are fully focused on the humanitarian issue,” Mr Boulos said, adding that the second priority was peace. “We know that President Trump always seeks peace and the establishment of peace.”
In September, at the invitation of the US, the foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – a group known as the Quad – joined Washington to engage in extensive consultations on finding a solution to the war. A new peace proposal called for an initial three-month truce followed by a return to civilian rule in which the Muslim Brotherhood is kept out of power.
The UAE renewed its call for an end to the war on Tuesday. Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, said the army's loss of El Fasher after a long siege was “a moment that requires careful thought and realism” and said “the political path is the only option to end the civil war”.
The US hosted officials from the four countries over the weekend, but Mr Boulos said meetings had taken place, but no official negotiations.
“We are working within the framework of the Quartet, meaning with our Saudi, Emirati and Egyptian brothers. However, there are other partners who are also interested in the Sudanese issue,” he said, referring to European countries, Turkey and Qatar.
Egypt has been the destination for millions who have fled the war in Sudan. Mr Trump's adviser said many from El Fasher were now heading towards Chad, which “could have very serious repercussions for the region”.
El Fasher has been the focus of Sudan's civil war since the army drove the RSF out of the capital and central Sudan this year. With its capture, the RSF now has full control over Darfur, a region the size of France, where it has set up a government of its own based in the city of Nyala.
The RSF also controls parts of Kordofan to the south-west, which analysts believe will be the next theatre of the war. Besides Khartoum and central Sudan, the army also controls the eastern and northern regions.
The plan put forward by the Quad proposed a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition towards a civilian-led government. The army-backed government had rejected the proposal and foreign interference.
“In principle, both sides have shown a reasonable degree of responsiveness to the issue of a truce, but we need to work more intensively with both sides,” he said of the efforts that have been made so far and the warring parties' responses to the proposal sent to them.
“We are working in a way that we hope will elicit more responsiveness from both sides, especially the Rapid Support Forces, because we are talking specifically about El Fasher, the El Fasher area, and other areas of Kordofan and elsewhere,” he added, stressing that a more immediate response is needed from both sides.
