Sudan’s Army Won’t Sign the Peace Plan Until the RSF Leaves Every City
SUDAN · GEOPOLITICS
Key Facts
—The sticking point: Sudan’s army accepts most of the US peace proposal but demands the RSF quit every city occupied since May 11, 2023, per documents seen by Reuters on July 9.
—What the plan offers: an immediate 90-day humanitarian truce, talks on a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition to elections.
—The narrower offer: a UN-led mechanism for limited RSF withdrawals, prioritising North Darfur and North Kordofan.
—The RSF position: the paramilitary force says it received and welcomed the proposal and filed a written response, while pressing a drone campaign in Kordofan.
—The stakes: the war has killed hundreds of thousands of people by multiple estimates and displaced millions, the world’s largest displacement crisis.
—The brokers: Washington leads the effort alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the group known as the Quad.
—The battlefield: the RSF recently took al-Fashir in North Darfur, where it is building a parallel government.
The US-drafted Sudan peace plan has hit a familiar wall. The army will not broadly accept it unless the Rapid Support Forces leave every city they seized in three years of war, according to documents seen by Reuters.
What the Sudan peace plan puts on the table
Reuters reported on July 9 that the American proposal, delivered last month, calls for an immediate 90-day humanitarian truce. That pause would open talks on a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition ending in elections.
The text also foresees a single, unified national army, with fighters disarmed, demobilised and reintegrated. A Sudanese-led political process would exclude the Muslim Brotherhood and any militia elements that committed atrocities.
Senior Sudanese officials confirmed the contents of the documents to the agency. Neither the US State Department nor Sudan’s foreign ministry responded to requests for comment.
The exchange is the clearest sign of engagement since Washington signalled recently that it had a completed text ready. US officials call the plan the most realistic exit from a war now in its fourth year.
One clause holds everything up
The army-led government accepted most of the package, the documents show. What it rejected is the idea of only a limited pullback by its paramilitary rival.
The plan proposes a UN-led mechanism to support RSF withdrawals from priority areas, starting with North Darfur and North Kordofan. The army wants far more.
Its written response insists on “the withdrawal of (the RSF) from all the cities it has occupied since May 11, 2023.” The same demand has sunk earlier peace efforts.
For residents of the occupied cities, the distinction is everything. A limited pullback would leave the RSF in control of most of Darfur and much of Sudan’s west.
Mixed signals from both camps
Confusion has trailed the plan from the start. US adviser for Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos first told the UN Security Council that Sudan had rejected it.
Last week he changed course. He said army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan had apparently accepted rather than rejected the proposal.
A senior RSF official told Reuters the force received and welcomed the text and sent a written reply. The RSF has welcomed peace offers before while continuing to attack.
Its drones are now striking the Kordofan region, which lies between Darfur and the army-held east. In North Darfur, the RSF recently captured the city of al-Fashir in a violent assault.
UN experts have accused the RSF of committing genocide in Darfur, a region the size of France where it is installing a parallel government. The force denies targeting civilians.
Why it matters far beyond Sudan
Sudan sits on the Red Sea, astride the shipping lanes that feed the Suez Canal. A collapsed state there spreads instability from Egypt to the Horn of Africa.
Egypt is wary of chaos on its southern border and of Nile security, and it is one of the plan’s four sponsors. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates bring sway over the warring camps that Washington lacks alone.
The war is also a test case of Gulf-power politics in Africa, a conflict fed by outside patrons. The Rio Times has reported how foreign money and mercenaries fuel the fighting, much of it paid for with smuggled gold.
The split is meanwhile hardening into institutions. Rival banknotes now circulate in army-held and RSF-held zones, and each month of stalemate makes reunification harder.
The conflict began in April 2023, when the army and the RSF fell out over merging their forces during a planned transition to civilian rule. What started as a Khartoum power struggle now stretches from the Red Sea coast to the Sahel’s smuggling routes.
What to watch next
The army’s conditions now sit with Washington’s mediators, who must decide whether to redraft the withdrawal clause. No date has been announced for a next round.
Earlier mediation rounds in Jeddah and Geneva produced short-lived deals on aid access and little else. The Quad format tries to put every outside patron at one table.
The RSF’s written response has not been published. Whether the Quad can close the gap between a limited and a full withdrawal will decide if the 90-day truce ever starts.
UN agencies have warned of famine conditions in parts of Darfur and Kordofan. A truce would offer the first sustained corridor for food aid in months.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the US peace plan for Sudan?
It proposes an immediate 90-day humanitarian truce, talks on a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition to elections. It also sets out a unified national army with disarmament and reintegration arrangements.
Why has Sudan’s army not accepted the plan in full?
The army accepted most of the proposal but insists the Rapid Support Forces leave all cities occupied since May 11, 2023. The plan only backs limited, UN-supported withdrawals prioritising North Darfur and North Kordofan.
How has the RSF responded to the proposal?
A senior RSF official told Reuters the force received and welcomed the plan and made a written response. It is doing so even as it presses a drone campaign in the Kordofan region.
Who is mediating an end to Sudan’s war?
The United States leads the effort alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. This group, known as the Quad, has pushed a shared roadmap since 2025.
Connected Coverage
Sudan’s war runs through our Africa files: how rival banknotes are hardening a country split in two and how foreign money and mercenaries fuel the war. For the wider contest reshaping the continent, read our pillar Africa: The New Scramble and follow the Northern Africa hub.
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