Sudan’s RSF Announces Ceasefire Amid Rejected US Peace Proposal: What This Means for the Region

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4 hours ago

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Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has announced a unilateral three-month ceasefire a day after the army dismissed a United States truce proposal from international mediators.

The US, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Saudi Arabia — known as the Quad — earlier this month proposed a plan for a three-month truce followed by peace talks. The RSF responded by saying it had accepted the plan, but soon after, it attacked army territory with a barrage of drone strikes.

The statement appeared to announce a unilateral ceasefire. It came a day after Sudan’s army chief rejected the Quad’s proposals and criticised the inclusion of the UAE, which has been accused of arming the RSF, as a mediator.

The Gulf nation has refuted the allegations, asserting its goal is to bring an end to the conflict.

TUNE IN TO

Over the weekend, Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, criticized the American proposal, claiming it seeks to undermine the Sudanese military while enabling the RSF to retain control over the areas it has captured.

“No-one in Sudan will accept the presence of these rebels or for them to be part of any solution in the future,” Burhan said. He also denied what he said were US accusations of Islamist influence in his government.

“In his rejection of the US Peace Plan for Sudan, and his repeated refusal to accept a ceasefire, he demonstrates consistently obstructive behaviour,” Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, UAE’s minister of state for international cooperation, said in a statement on Monday.

The war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023 over disagreements on integrating the two groups, in addition to plunging Sudan into famine, has killed tens of thousands of civilians.

Both the RSF and the army have been accused of committing war crimes — allegations both sides deny.