Sudan army sets condition for US peace initiative

The Sudanese army has conditioned any broad acceptance of a U.S. proposal for ending the country's three-year-old civil war on the full withdrawal by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces from cities it has occupied, according to documents seen by Reuters.

The documents, the contents of which were confirmed by senior Sudanese officials, show that a U.S. proposal last month called for both sides to agree to an immediate 90-day humanitarian truce, allowing for negotiation of a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition to elections.

It also called for a UN-led mechanism to support limited withdrawals by the RSF, prioritising North Darfur, where the RSF recently took over the city of al-Fashir in a violent attack, and North Kordofan, a current target of RSF drone strikes.

The army-led Sudanese government accepted most of the proposal but objected to only a limited withdrawal, saying the plan must include "the withdrawal of (the RSF) from all the cities it has occupied since May 11, 2023," the documents showed.

The army demand for broad RSF withdrawal has been a repeated stumbling block in previous peace efforts.        

The U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. proposal also called for a unified national army with disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration arrangements, as well as a Sudanese civilian-led political process excluding the Muslim Brotherhood or militia elements that committed atrocities.

After initially telling the UN Security Council that Sudan had rejected the proposal, U.S. Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos said in a social media post last week that he was "extremely pleased" to hear that Sudanese army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan "has apparently accepted — rather than rejected — the latest peace proposal".

The U.S. has led previously unsuccessful attempts to end the conflict, which has displaced millions, killed hundreds of thousands by multiple estimates, and spread hunger and disease.

UN experts have accused the RSF of committing genocide in the Darfur region, an area the size of France where it retains control and has begun setting up a parallel government. The RSF denies targeting civilians.

A senior RSF official told Reuters the force had received and welcomed the latest proposal and made a written response, but gave no further details. The RSF has previously welcomed peace offers while pressing on with attacks.     

The paramilitary force is currently conducting a drone-led campaign in the Kordofan region that lies between Darfur and the army-controlled eastern half of the country.

The war broke out in April 2023 after the army and RSF fell out over plans to integrate their troops and a transition to civilian-led democracy.