Sudan: With Death and Famine Spreading, RSF Says It Accepts Humanitarian Truce in Darfur

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in Sudan released a statement Thursday announcing acceptance of a proposal for a humanitarian ceasefire on terms drafted by the U.S.-led initiative called the Quad that includes Egypt, Saudi Arabi and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“In response to the aspirations and interests of the Sudanese people, the Rapid Support Forces affirms its agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad countries,” the RSF statement said.

The statement comes amid large-scale atrocities following the RSF takeover of El Fasher in Sudan’s western Darfur region 18 months ago. Since April 2023, Sudan has been locked in a deadly proxy war between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

After the RSF capture of an SAF base in Darfur 10 days ago, more than 80,000 civilians have reportedly fled the escalating violence in El Fasher and surrounding areas, and there are mounting accounts of “executions, sexual violence, humiliation, extortion and attacks,” Deputy UN Spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Wednesday.

Earlier, the SAF welcomed the Quad proposal but set as the first step in the process a complete withdrawal by the RSF from areas seized in recent fighting as well as compliance with terms of previous peace plans that included surrendering arms.

The RSF statement called for “immediately commencing discussions on the arrangements for a cessation of hostilities and the fundamental principles guiding the political process in Sudan,” signaling that significant obstacles stand in the way of an implementable agreement. These include the RSF demand that the SAF withdraw troops from the capital Khartoum, which the army recaptured from the RSF in March.

In Washington, the State Department said the United States and other Quad members are continuing to pursue peace. “We urge both sides to move forward in response to the US-led effort to conclude a humanitarian truce, given the immediate urgency of de-escalating the violence and ending the suffering of the Sudanese people,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Gold and weapons – and an illusive peace

Prospects for ending the fighting appear slim. Sudan is the world’s third leading gold producer, and both armies are beneficiaries of the mostly illicit trade. Some 90 percent of production is smuggled out through neighboring countries, “often passing through transit routes in Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan before reaching the UAE,” the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, reported in a lengthy analysis published on Tuesday.

Sophisticated weapons flow to rival forces from powerful neighbors and likely are on the rise. The Wall Street Journal, quoting U.S. intelligence sources, reported that the UAE has shipped “increasing supplies of weapons” into Sudan to shore up the RSF, including “advanced Chinese-made drones along with small arms, heavy machine guns, vehicles, artillery, mortars and ammunition.”

“We categorically reject any claims of providing any form of support to either warring party,” the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement sent to AllAfrica.

The fall of the El Fashi has spurred action by other regional powers to counter RSF advances, according to Middle East which reported increased cooperation between the Egyptian and Sudanese armies and direct cooperation between Egyptian and Turkish armies on Sudan.

The discussions taking place in Washington, Cairo and other capitols focus solely on “a cease fire that stops fighting and humanitarian access that feeds people,” Cameron Hudson, Africa analyst who served as chief of staff to successive U.S. presidential special envoys for Sudan, said during a talk at the Duke University Middle East Studies Center.

“Root causes of the war are not being talked about, and the reconstruction of the country has not been talked about, and the governance of the country has not been talked about,” he said. Until those are addressed – and the Sudanese people are engaged in that process – a lasting peace is likely elusive.

By Allafrica