Sudan's army welcomes US-led peace efforts but says military mobilisation will continue

Defence minister of army-backed government singles out Trump and his adviser Boulos for praise on their efforts

Displaced Sudanese who fled El Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces. AFP

The defence minister in Sudan's army-backed government said that US-led efforts to end the war in his country are both “welcome” and “appreciated” but that popular mobilisation will continue to defeat the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Gen Hassan Kabroun's comments came in a televised address following a Tuesday night meeting of the security and defence council, led by army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, Sudan's de facto leader.

“We welcome the sincere efforts aimed at ending the suffering of the Sudanese people caused by the mutiny of the militia,” said the minister, alluding to the RSF, whose forerunner is the notorious, Darfur-based Janjaweed militia.

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“We thank the US government and President [Donald] Trump's adviser [for African and Arab affairs] Massad Boulos for their appreciated efforts; and we welcome any effort that ends the suffering of the Sudanese people,” he said.

Displaced Sudanese children who fled with their families from the city of El Fasher in Darfur after it was captured from the army last week by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Reuters

The minister said that the military-backed government would continue recruiting members of the Sudanese public “to aid the armed forces in crushing the mutinous militia within the framework of the state's efforts to end the mutiny”.

“The plan put forward in September by the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates has not been rejected as some media claimed,” said prominent Sudanese analyst Osman Al Mirghani.

“The minister spoke in general terms, but there's no rejection in what he said. Talk about recruitment and mobilisation is routine. The army is constantly recruiting.”

Gen Kabroun's comments came as negotiators from both the army and the RSF continue to hold meetings with US officials in Washington to hammer out logistical and security details of a plan for a three-month, humanitarian truce presented in September by the US and its three Arab allies.

Under the plan, the humanitarian truce would be followed by a longer one and a return to civilian rule from which the Muslim Brotherhood is excluded.

A man stands next to injured Sudanese men who fled the violence in the Darfur city of El Fasher. Reuters

The Brotherhood, declared a terrorist group in several Arab nations, served as the ideological vehicle for about three decades of rule by former Sudanese dictator Omar Al Bashir, removed from power in 2019 by a popular uprising.

Islamists loyal to Al Bashir's regime are known to have made a comeback of sorts after several years in the political wilderness following the 2019 overthrow of the dictator's regime, with some sending men of fighting age to join the army in its war against the RSF.

Mr Boulos said on Monday that both warring factions had agreed “in principle” to the three-month truce, with technical details being discussed.

“They have no objections … we are discussing its implementation – monitoring mechanisms, defining existing front lines as well as logistical and security” issues, Mr Boulos told reporters.

An injured Sudanese man who fled violence in the Darfur city of El Fasher. Reuters

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters on Tuesday that Washington was “actively engaged” in seeking a peace deal alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The US wanted “to see this conflict come to a peaceful end, just as we have with so many others”, she said. “But the reality is that it's a very complicated situation on the ground right now.”

Sudan's civil war, which is at the midway point of its third year, has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 14 million. About 30 million people – more than half the population – are facing hunger, with pockets of famine emerging in some areas.

The fall of the city of El Fasher to the RSF last week after an 18-month siege gave the paramilitary full control of Sudan's Darfur region and entrenched the de facto division of the country.

Displaced children at a camp in Tawila, Darfur. Sudan's civil war has displaced about 14 million people. AP

Besides Darfur, the RSF also holds parts of Kordofan to the south-west, while the army controls the capital Khartoum, as well as the northern, eastern and central regions of Sudan.

Both sides have governments of their own, with the RSF administration based in Darfur and the army-backed authorities in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

“The loss of Darfur has filled the army leadership with anger,” said another Sudanese analyst, Ismail Tesso. “The army's mood is very belligerent and everyone is focused on avenging El Fasher.”

Al Shafie Ahmed reported from Kampala, Uganda.