From Tripoli to Khartoum: Washington's fear of a second Libya

A US ceasefire proposal to pause Sudan's civil war could push the country towards a Libya-style partition in its current form, a top adviser to Sudan's army-led authorities told Reuters, in some of the strongest criticism by a Sudanese official of the plan so far.  

The remarks come a week after Reuters reported that army leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's visa to attend the UN General Assembly in New York had been withheld because he had not yet accepted the proposal. 

Sudan's army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, when the two fell out over issues including how to integrate their forces in a planned transition to civilian rule. 

The proposal, put forward by US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos, would impose a 90-day ceasefire, followed by negotiations to end the war and resume the move to civilian rule.

Amjad Farid, an adviser to Burhan on political and international affairs, told Reuters that the army-led government had presented its proposed changes to the deal, chief among them an internationally monitored withdrawal of the RSF from urban areas, but the US had appeared to ignore them.

"Mr Boulos seems to be putting pressure on us to accept a de facto partitioning of the country similar to Libyan model," he told Reuters, speaking from New York where he attended the General Assembly.

"Our concern is that the approach Mr Boulos continues to advance appears to accommodate the militia’s continued existence and preserve a place for it in Sudan’s political future," he added, referring to the RSF.

A Sudanese delegation had been preparing to meet Boulos to discuss the ceasefire in Washington last week, but the meeting was cancelled after Burhan's visa was withheld, two Sudanese diplomats told Reuters, asking not to be named because they were not authorised to speak. 

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Last week, it said neither the RSF nor the armed forces "represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan."

EFFORTS TO SET UP PARALLEL GOVERNMENT

The US has accused the RSF of committing genocide and the army of carrying out war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons.

Analysts and officials have long raised fears that the conflict could lead to a de facto division of Sudan that resembles neighbouring Libya, which has been split into rival eastern and western administrations for over a decade. 

Since last year the RSF has been trying to establish its own parallel government in the city of Nyala in the western Darfur region. Ministers have been appointed and some police are active, though they have not set up public services or institutions such as schools, hospitals and courts. 

Following recent battlefield defeats, the RSF has not made any recent statements on the US proposal and its leader has said its fighters intend to continue the war.