American proposal for ceasefire ‘worst’ so far, says Sudan’s army chief

Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Sunday slammed a US-led ceasefire proposal as the “worst” so far.

The US-led ‘Quad’ group has floated a proposal to strike a ceasefire deal between Sudan’s two warring sides, the Saudi Armed Forces (SAF) led by al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.

Al-Burhan accused Massad Boulos, the US envoy for Africa, for parroting RSF’s talking points.

In a video statement cited by AFP, al-Burhan said that Quad’s proposal —which was also approved by fellow members Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates— was “worst yet” and unacceptable to his government.

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Al-Burhan said the Quad was “biased” as long as the UAE was a member. He accused Boulos of parroting talking points from UAE, which has been widely accused of arming and supporting the RSF.

The Sudanese civil war began in 2023 following the collapse of an uneasy power-sharing arrangement between the country’s military led by al-Burhan and the RSF led by Hemedti. The military is believed to have the Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s backing and the UAE is believed to be the principal supporter of RSF.

‘Quad not innocent’: Sudan’s army chief slams group

With the UAE as the member, the Quad was “not innocent of responsibility, especially since the entire world has witnessed the UAE’s support for rebels against the Sudanese state”, according to al-Burhan.

Al-Burhan said the Quad’s proposal “eliminates the armed forces, dissolves security agencies, and keeps the militia where they are”.

“If this is where the mediation is going, then we consider it biased, especially Massad Boulos who threatens us and speaks like he wants to impose things on us. We fear he could be an obstacle to the peace all of us Sudanese want,” said al-Burhan.

While al-Burhan appreciated US President Donald Trump's announcement to intervene in the conflict to bring it to an end, he said that such an effort should come with a “positive approach” and “a proper approach”.

Al-Burhan said it was a “war for survival” and the only acceptable peace deal would include a total retreat of the RSF, who would be confined to specific areas.

In recent months, the Sudanese military has been on the backfoot as the RSF has defeated the military in the country's west to win control of the entire Darfur region, essentially splitting the country into two western and eastern halves. The RSF has been widely accused of massacres in Darfur since it drove out the military from Darfur’s El-Fasher last month.

Previously, the United Nations (UN) has described the Sudanese civil war as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Up to 150,000 people have been killed, hundreds of thousands have been injured, and 14 million have been displaced, according to estimates.

Around 24 million are considered to be in acute hunger and 600,000 are facing famine, as per estimates.

With RSF’s massacres, there are fears that Darfur could see another round of genocide. Between 2003 and 2005, the same paramilitaries —acting on the orders of Sudan’s then-dictator Omar al-Bashir— waged a genocidal campaign in Darfur killed around 300,000 people from non-Arab Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa communities. They engaged in mass killings, mass rapes, the destruction of entire villages, and scorched-earth tactics.