UAE says Sudan's army chief blocking peace efforts

Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan lashes out at US-led mediation and insists war will continue until rebels are defeated

Sudanese refugees at the Tine refugee camp in eastern Chad. Reuters

The UAE has accused Sudan's army chief of obstructing efforts to end the civil war.

Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, said Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan was refusing peace overtures after he delivered stinging criticism of US and Saudi-backed mediation efforts.

"In his rejection of the US peace plan for Sudan and his repeated refusal to accept a ceasefire, he demonstrates consistently obstructive behaviour," Ms Al Hashimy said in a statement shared with The National. "This must be called out. The Sudanese people bear the heaviest cost."

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She said the UAE welcomes efforts led by US President Donald Trump to end the fighting between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began in 2023.

"The UAE remains gravely concerned by the conduct of both warring parties whose escalating military actions and continued refusal to facilitate humanitarian access are driving Sudan further into collapse," Ms Al Hashimy added.

Gen Al Burhan has accused Washington’s envoy, Massad Boulos, of acting as “an obstacle to peace” and said the wider Quad group had become “biased” in favour of the RSF. His criticism comes at a time of increased pressure on the armed forces to commit to a ceasefire as the humanitarian crisis compounds.

The Quad – the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – he added, had issued three separate proposals.

“The first completely contradicts everything we stand for, so we drafted our own road map and sent it back to them,” he said. “They submitted a second paper and a third one, and the last was the worst.”

In September, the Quad countries proposed a three-month humanitarian truce to be followed by a long-term ceasefire and a civilian-led government that shepherds a transition process to restore democratic rule.

Gen Al Burhan said the army would not accept any ceasefire without the withdrawal of RSF fighters from territory they seized.

The RSF, said on Monday it would abide by a three-month truce.

RSF commander Gen Mohamed Dagalo said that Sudan is going through “one of the most critical moments in its history”, and said stopping the bloodshed was “an urgent duty".

Gen Al Burhan said that: “Any initiative that grants legitimacy to the rebels is rejected. As long as the rebels exist, there will be no peace. As long as they occupy our land, there will be no peace."

The SAF’s rejection of the ceasefire has created an impasse despite concerted diplomatic efforts.

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.

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

As of now, the army controls the capital Khartoum as well as the eastern, northern and central regions. The RSF controls the western Darfur region and parts of central Kordofan.