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 state has denied the accusations and said it aims to stop the war.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of the RSF said in a speech on Monday: "In response to international efforts, chiefly that of His Excellency US President Donald Trump ... I announce a humanitarian ceasefire including a cessation of hostilities for three months."
"We hope the Quad countries will play their role in pushing the other side to engage with this step," he said.
His comments come at a time when the RSF has come under fire for alleged attacks on civilians in the aftermath of its takeover of the city of Al-Fasher in late October. That takeover cemented its control of the Darfur region, and the force has reportedly stepped up attacks on the Kordofan region in a bid to take control of the country.
Sudan's army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in his speech on the weekend, accused the US proposal of aiming to weaken the Sudanese army while allowing the RSF to maintain the territory it has seized.
"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.
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