More than 14 million people have been displaced by Sudan’s war. Over the weekend, Massad Boulos, an envoy of President Donald Trump, met Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Egypt as the United States and other intermediaries sought to end a conflict that has also unleashed waves of ethnically driven killings.
The Cost of the War
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have fought since April 2023. According to the supplied key dates, the conflict is in its fourth year. They fell out over issues including how to integrate the two forces during a planned transition to civilian rule.
Displacement and killings mark the human toll described in the account. It provides no figures on profits, financial beneficiaries, or economic contracts connected to the war. Nor does it describe the effects on particular workers, workplaces, or unions.
Washington has accused the RSF of committing genocide and the army of carrying out war crimes. Both forces have previously denied abuses. Last month, the U.S. State Department said neither the Sudanese Armed Forces nor the Rapid Support Forces, nor either of their respective leaders, “represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan.”
Washington’s Proposal and Pressure
The rare meeting in Egypt took place less than two weeks after Washington withheld a visa for al-Burhan ahead of a scheduled United Nations appearance. Sudanese and other sources said the visa decision was linked to a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal that Khartoum has resisted.
The account doesn't specify the proposal’s terms or explain why Khartoum opposed it. It records U.S. diplomatic pressure and Sudanese resistance, but gives no details about the ceasefire’s proposed enforcement or consequences for either force.
On Monday, Boulos described the meeting on X, saying: “We also reaffirm the United States' continued efforts, alongside our Egyptian partners and our other regional and international partners and allies, to advance a political solution to the crisis.”
He said the United States was ready to support “all efforts leading to a comprehensive dialogue among the Sudanese political forces, leading to a preliminary road map of the future of the Sudan.” The statement lays out a proposed process: political forces hold dialogue, then produce a preliminary road map. The account doesn't identify which forces would take part or what the road map would contain.
The State’s Role
The United States and other intermediaries are pursuing a political solution. Washington has also withheld al-Burhan’s visa and accused both sides of grave abuses. The State Department rejects both forces and their leaders as legitimate constitutional governance, while Boulos’s remarks describe support for dialogue and a road map.
The report identifies no unions, strikes, organized labor groups, or worker-led movements in the negotiations. It also offers no details of a reform program beyond the stated push for a ceasefire, political dialogue, and a preliminary road map. The reported stakes remain the war between the army and the RSF, the planned transition to civilian rule, and the displacement of more than 14 million people.