Massad Boulos, an envoy for President Donald Trump, met Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Egypt over the weekend as the United States and other intermediaries sought to end Sudan’s war. The meeting came as Khartoum resisted a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal, with the conflict now in its fourth year. More than 14 million people have been displaced. The war has unleashed waves of ethnically driven killings.
U.S. Push for a Political Road Map
Boulos described the meeting on X on Monday. He said the United States was working with Egypt and other regional and international partners to advance a political solution. The United States, he said, stood ready to support efforts toward “a comprehensive dialogue among the Sudanese political forces,” leading to “a preliminary road map of the future of the Sudan.”
Washington’s statement spells out its stated role in the negotiations: it’s working alongside partners and seeking dialogue among Sudanese political forces. The article doesn’t specify what the proposed road map would contain or how Sudanese parties would set its terms. It identifies the United States, Egypt and other intermediaries as participants in efforts to end the conflict.
The rare meeting came 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 U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal prompted the visa decision, and Khartoum has resisted that proposal. The report doesn’t describe its terms or say what response, if any, al-Burhan gave during his meeting with Boulos.
War and Competing Claims of Legitimacy
Sudan’s army has fought the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023. The two forces fell out over issues including how to integrate them during a planned transition to civilian rule. According to the supplied date reference, the conflict is in its fourth year.
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 has accused the RSF of committing genocide and the army of carrying out war crimes. Both sides have previously denied abuses.
The State Department’s statement challenged the legitimacy of both armed forces and their leaders. The U.S. envoy’s public remarks, by contrast, described a path centered on dialogue among Sudanese political forces. The report doesn’t identify which political forces would participate or explain how they’d relate to either armed group.
The Cost of the Conflict
The war has displaced more than 14 million people and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. It has also brought waves of ethnically driven killings, according to the report. Those consequences accompany the dispute over integration of the forces and the failed planned transition to civilian rule.
The meeting in Egypt put al-Burhan in direct contact with a U.S. envoy after Washington had withheld his visa for the planned United Nations appearance. Boulos’s account emphasized cooperation with Egypt and other partners, alongside a comprehensive dialogue and preliminary road map. The report provides no further details on negotiations, the ceasefire proposal’s terms or the next steps after the meeting.