Sudan01 October, 20263 min read
Abdalla Hamdok Warns US Ceasefire Push Could Split Sudan Without Inclusive Political Process
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Hamdok warns US ceasefire push risks partition of Sudan without inclusive politics. Hamdok urges US sanctions with personal consequences for the warring sides.
6 outlets told this the same way.
Hamdok warns of partition
Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said Sudan risks de facto partition unless a US-led ceasefire push is paired with an inclusive political process, and he warned that “We don't want to see a situation where the political process is taking a backseat.” Hamdok said he was “very much concerned and worried, having gone through previous partitioning,” and he added, “We lost a third of our country,” referring to South Sudan’s 2011 secession following an independence referendum. Hamdok said the Trump administration is urging the warring Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to agree to a 90-day humanitarian truce, followed by negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and civilian control of the government.
Hamdok described the 90-day truce as the “first step” in a credible political process that should ultimately be Sudanese owned, and he said the approach is advocated by the coalition he now leads. Hamdok said he visited Washington this week to discuss the US push for a ceasefire with officials including Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos, and he said the coalition’s legitimacy remains contested, particularly by Sudan's military-aligned government.
Visa denial and sanctions
A senior adviser to the government led by the army in Sudan told Reuters that an American proposal for a ceasefire could push the country toward division in a Libya-like shape, and Amjed Fareed said, “It appears Mr. Pauls is pressuring us to accept an actual division of the country similar to the Libyan model.”
Fareed added that “What concerns us is that the approach Mr. Pauls continues to promote apparently accepts the continued existence of the militia and preserves a place for it in Sudan’s political future.”
Reuters reported that the visa for Army Chief of Staff Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to attend United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York was blocked because he had not yet accepted the proposal, and Reuters said the Sudanese army has been fighting the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023.
Al-Monitor said the US State Department withheld a visa for Burhan to travel to New York to attend the UN General Assembly last week, and it said the move was intended to pressure the army chief into accepting a ceasefire.
Al-Monitor said Hamdok was supportive of the visa denial and also of the Trump administration’s push to extend a UN Security Council arms embargo covering the RSF's Darfur stronghold to all of Sudan, while Hamdok said, “They need to be told bluntly that there are consequences to what they are doing.”
International track for ceasefire
A joint statement by the African Union, the European Union, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States laid out two parallel tracks, urging negotiations between the fighting parties to reach a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive civilian political dialogue to define future governance. The statement warned that the war has become a threat to Sudan’s future and to the region’s stability, and it said the country is witnessing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis and displacement crisis, with 33 million people in need of aid and about 20 million facing severe food insecurity. The statement urged the warring parties to honor their obligations under the Jeddah Declaration and to take all necessary measures to protect civilians, infrastructure, essential services, and humanitarian workers, and it said the armed parties and external actors should not obstruct the dialogue.
The statement also renewed support for the Group of Five, and it said the signatories announced their support for the personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General to relaunch the political dialogue, in cooperation and coordination with the Group of Five. Al-Monitor said the proposed 90-day ceasefire would expand humanitarian aid access, which has been weaponized by both sides and constrained by the fighting, and it said the war has created what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.