The UAE has renewed its call for a political resolution in Sudan after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces seized control of the city of El Fasher from the armed forces.
The RSF said on Sunday it had captured the army's last foothold in the vast western region of Darfur, its headquarters in El Fasher, a city where more than 250,000 people need humanitarian assistance. The paramilitary group and the armed forces have been at war since April 2023.
In a post on social media, Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, said the loss of El Fasher by the army after a long siege was “a moment that requires careful thought and realism”, and that “the political path is the only option to end the civil war”.
At the weekend, the US hosted officials from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – a group known as the Quad – to push for a ceasefire in Sudan. "The members reaffirmed their commitment to the September 12 ministerial statement and agreed to establish a Joint Operational Committee to strengthen co-ordination on urgent priorities," Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to the White House on Arab and African affairs, wrote on social media.
Dr Gargash said: "The Quad’s statement and the roadmap constitute the internationally supported framework for restoring stability, and the critical humanitarian situation cannot withstand further escalation."
In September, at the invitation of the US, the foreign ministers of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt joined Washington to engage in extensive consultations on the war. A new peace proposal called for an initial three-month truce followed by a return to civilian rule in which the Muslim Brotherhood is kept out of power.
Late on Monday, army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan acknowledged in a TV broadcast that the garrison's troops and allied fighters had left El Fasher to spare the city and its residents "the systematic destruction and killing of civilians".
"They have decided to leave and we agreed they should leave the city and go somewhere safe so that they spare the remaining civilians and what is left of the city further destruction," said Gen Al Burhan, who vowed to retake the city and all RSF-held territory.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned of worse days ahead in the civil war after the fall of El Fasher. "This represents a terrible escalation in the conflict," he said at a regional gathering in Malaysia. "The level of suffering that we are witnessing in Sudan is unbearable."
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Mr Boulos said the takeover of El Fasher was a “very important and very worrying development”. He warned it could lead to the division of Sudan and have wider repercussions for the region.
“For President Trump, there are two priorities. The first priority is the humanitarian aspect, meaning that we are fully focused on the humanitarian issue,” Mr Boulos said, adding that the second priority was peace. “We know that President Trump always seeks peace and the establishment of peace.”
The US hosted officials from the Quad countries over the weekend, but Mr Boulos said no official negotiations had taken place on ending the war.
“In principle, both sides have shown a reasonable degree of responsiveness to the issue of a truce, but we need to work more intensively with both sides,” he said of the efforts that have been made so far and the warring parties' responses to the proposal sent to them.
“We are working in a way that we hope will elicit more responsiveness from both sides, especially the Rapid Support Forces, because we are talking specifically about El Fasher, the El Fasher area, and other areas of Kordofan and elsewhere,” he added, stressing that a more immediate response is needed from both sides.
