US envoy calls on warring parties in Sudan to accept truce without conditions

Trump's senior adviser on Africa, Massad Boulos, in Abu Dhabi for talks

Massad Boulos, senior adviser to US President Donald Trump on Africa, has said the Sudanese army had introduced conditions to the humanitarian truce proposal while the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) still need to agree to it in its exact format.

A senior UAE official on Tuesday welcomed the work by the US to end the war in Sudan.

"We welcome the American leadership," said Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to President Sheikh Mohamed. "We welcome the personal engagement of President Trump to prevent Sudan from sliding into further fragmentation."

RSF declares unilateral humanitarian ceasefire in Sudan

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The US envoy was in Abu Dhabi to discuss regional conflicts and the situation in Sudan. He has been engaged in working with the Quad group – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt – to bring about an end to the war.

The RSF said on Monday it was declaring a unilateral three-month ceasefire, a day after its rival rejected an international ceasefire proposal.

"However, we would like them to accept the specific text that we presented to them, which was quite comprehensive and was extensively discussed with the other side as well, a few weeks ago," Mr Boulos told The National, referring to the text that was presented to both warring parties in Washington.

The envoy also said the Sudanese army had introduced conditions to the proposal to which it had already agreed. "This is very sad, we have appealed and we have asked the two parties repeatedly to accept this humanitarian truce as presented, without any precondition, again because it was worked out with both sides," Mr Boulos said.

Mr Boulos said the RSF's announcement was related to the humanitarian truce but that the paramilitary forces need to agree to the original framework. He added that a roadmap had also been put in place towards a comprehensive agreement that would "soon" be implemented.

Mr Boulos called for the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary RSF to "honour their commitments" and allow "full and safe humanitarian access" into the war-torn country. The two sides have been waging a civil war for more than two and a half years. Dr Gargash also called for an end to the "weaponisation of aid".

Before the RSF's Monday announcement, in a meeting with his senior officers, Sudanese army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan had accused Mr Boulos of acting as “an obstacle to peace” and said the Quad group had become “biased” in favour of the RSF.

The envoy denied the accusations.

"I don't know what he was talking about. He was probably talking about something else that doesn't exist," Mr Boulos said of Gen Al Burhan. "We have to overlook those comments and remarks and focus on the heart of the matter, which is the humanitarian crisis."

While he thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for Riyadh’s role in the mediation process, Gen Al Burhan claimed the peace talks had drifted off course.

Abdalla Hamdok, the former prime minister of a civilian-led Sudanese government that was overthrown in a 2021 coup, on Tuesday blamed Islamist factions for resisting peace efforts.

"Sudan cannot afford to return to the dark legacy of Islamist factions who hijacked the state for decades and plunged our nation into endless conflict," he said. "Today’s war is being fuelled by the same ideological forces within the military leadership, obstructing peace and resisting the Quad framework."

Last week, Mr Trump said he would help to push for an end to the conflict after a request from Prince Mohammed. Mr Boulos said the US President has made peace in Sudan a "priority."

Dr Gargash said: "We need to end the war unconditionally today, put also hold everyone accountable according to the rule of law."

The civil war in Sudan, which has effectively split the country into two administrations, has been raging since April 2023, when tension between the Sudanese army and the RSF erupted into open conflict.

Tens of thousands have been killed and about 14 million displaced. The war has also fuelled a humanitarian crisis, with more than half Sudan's population facing hunger and pockets of famine surfacing across much of the vast Afro-Arab nation, especially in the west.