A U.S. ceasefire proposal for Sudan could lead to a division resembling Libya, Amjad Farid, an adviser to army leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, told Reuters on September 30. The plan calls for a 90-day ceasefire, followed by negotiations to end the war and resume the move to civilian rule. Farid said the approach risked preserving the Rapid Support Forces’ place in Sudan’s political future.
A ceasefire and a political settlement
Massad Boulos, the U.S. Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs, put forward the proposal. Farid said the army-led government submitted proposed changes, chiefly an internationally monitored withdrawal of RSF forces from urban areas. He said the United States appeared to ignore those changes.
“Mr Boulos seems to be putting pressure on us to accept a de facto partitioning of the country similar to Libyan model,” Farid said from New York, where he attended the U.N. General Assembly. He added that “the approach Mr Boulos continues to advance appears to accommodate the militia’s continued existence and preserve a place for it in Sudan’s political future.” His remarks reflect the army adviser’s concern that ceasefire terms could shape Sudan’s territorial unity and the RSF’s future political role.
Sudan’s army and the RSF have fought since April 2023. The two sides fell out over issues including how to integrate their forces during a planned transition to civilian rule. The U.S. proposal ties a halt in fighting to talks on ending the war and restarting that transition.
Diplomatic pressure and objections
A week before the Reuters report, the news agency reported that authorities withheld General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s visa to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York because he had not accepted the proposal. A Sudanese delegation had planned to meet Boulos in Washington the previous week to discuss the ceasefire. Two Sudanese diplomats, speaking anonymously because they weren’t authorized to speak, told Reuters the meeting was canceled after Burhan’s visa was withheld.
The U.S. State Department didn’t immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The previous week, it said neither the RSF nor the armed forces “represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan.” The United States has accused the RSF of genocide and the army of war crimes, including using chemical weapons.
Partition risk on the ground
Analysts and officials have long warned the conflict could produce a de facto division resembling neighboring Libya, which is split between rival eastern and western administrations. Since last year, the RSF has sought to establish a parallel government in Nyala, in western Darfur. Ministers now serve there, and some police are active, but the group hasn’t established public services or institutions such as schools, hospitals and courts.
After recent battlefield defeats, the RSF has made no recent statements on the U.S. proposal. Its leader has said its fighters intend to continue the war. The United States says the next steps would put a ceasefire before negotiations on ending the war and returning to civilian rule. Farid’s objection remains that the approach could leave the RSF with a continuing political role.