Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, in conflict with the regular army for over two years, announced on Thursday their acceptance of a proposal for a humanitarian truce put forward by mediators.
This announcement comes after the paramilitaries captured the major city of El Fasher, displacing the army from its last stronghold in the vast western Darfur region.
“In response to the aspirations and interests of the Sudanese people, the Rapid Support Forces affirm their agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad countries,” the RSF stated, referring to the United States, Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
The military-aligned government did not immediately comment on the RSF’s announcement.
Earlier in the day, army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan had declared his forces were “striving for the defeat of the enemy.”
“Soon, we will avenge those who have been killed and abused… in all the regions attacked by the rebels,” he said in a televised address.
The government had indicated earlier this week that it would continue with the war following an internal meeting on a ceasefire proposal.
The details of the mediators’ proposal have not yet been made public, though a previous version put forward in September called for a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to civilian rule that would exclude both warring sides.
In its statement, the RSF said the ceasefire was necessary “to address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war and to enhance the protection of civilians,” as well as to “ensure the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance.”
The fall of El Fasher gave paramilitaries control over all five state capitals in Darfur, raising fears that Sudan could effectively be partitioned along an east-west axis.
The RSF now dominates Darfur and parts of the south, while the army holds the north, east, and central regions along the Nile and Red Sea.
The conflict in Sudan, ongoing since April 2023, has pitted the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan against those of his former deputy, RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.
