By Federico Maccioni
ABU DHABI (Reuters) -The United States has presented Sudan’s warring parties with a proposal for a truce but neither side has formally accepted it, U.S. envoy Massad Boulos said on Tuesday, as the army accused its rivals of staging an attack despite declaring a ceasefire.
Boulos said that while there were no objections to the content of the U.S.-proposed plan, the Sudanese army had come back with “preconditions” he described as impossible to achieve.
The army’s rival in the war, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), unilaterally declared a cessation of hostilities on Monday in line with U.S. wishes. But on Tuesday the army said it had repelled an attack on a base in Babanusa in West Kordofan state, the newest frontline in the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week he would intervene to stop the conflict between the army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023 out of a power struggle and has triggered famine, ethnic killings and mass displacement.
Previous efforts led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates have failed to bear fruit. The group submitted a proposal to the two forces in September.
ARMY TO RESPOND TO PROPOSAL
“We have presented a strong text for a truce, but neither the SAF (army) nor RSF have formally accepted the text we put forward,” Boulos, Trump’s adviser for African and Arab affairs, said on Tuesday, indicating that the latest plan built on the September proposal.
Hours after Boulos’ statements, Sudan’s Security and Defense Council, chaired by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, asked “competent authorities” to respond, marking a shift from an earlier criticism of the proposal.
The comments marked a shift in tone after Al-Burhan described the U.S.’s latest proposal on Sunday as the worst he had seen, saying it sidelined the army and granted the RSF legitimacy.
Boulos, speaking at a press conference with Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said Burhan’s criticisms were based on incorrect information.
The Sudanese army has previously objected to the inclusion of the UAE in peace talks, and has also said it would only accept a truce after the RSF withdraws forces from civilian areas.
The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. Gargash on Tuesday said “disingenuous claims and misinformation campaigns” would not deter his country from seeking peace.
Gargash also said Sudan’s future could not be dictated by the Muslim Brotherhood or related groups, a reference to Islamist influence in the army which Burhan has denied.
Boulos said if the U.S. moves forward with labelling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, affiliates in the region could be examined.
RSF ANNOUNCES CEASEFIRE, RIVALS CALL IT A RUSE
On Monday, under international pressure after brutal attacks on civilians by his forces late last month, RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said his forces would enter a unilateral ceasefire immediately.
A United Nations spokesperson said on Tuesday the announcement was a “step in the right direction.”
“But importantly, the proof of sincerity will be that it must protect civilians. It must let aid in at scale and allow us to work independently,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general.
Boulos said he welcomed the RSF’s declaration and hoped it would be upheld. “External financial and military support to the warring parties must stop,” he added, without citing the countries.
Khalid Aleisir, a spokesman for Sudan’s government, led by the army, said the RSF’s announcement on Monday was a “clear political manoeuvre” meant to distract from its fighters’ atrocities.
The RSF has said that reports of atrocities have been exaggerated and anyone found to have committed abuses would be held accountable.
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni and Menna Alaa El-Din; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Aidan Lewis, Richard Chang and Stephen Coates)
