Full story
US truce tied to RSF pullout
Sudan’s government says it will accept a proposed U.S. roadmap to end the war only if the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) withdraw completely and are disarmed from all cities under its control, according to two senior officials speaking to Anadolu on condition of anonymity on Friday.
“tied its acceptance of a proposed US roadmap to the complete withdrawal and disarmament”
The Sudanese response was submitted in a document titled Restoring Peace in Sudan and, the officials said, it requires the RSF to withdraw from all cities under its control, disarm, demobilise its militants and reintegrate eligible personnel into the Sudanese Armed Forces under UN supervision after a permanent ceasefire takes effect.
The U.S. proposal calls for the immediate implementation of a 90-day humanitarian truce to pave the way for negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition towards elections, while also proposing a UN-led mechanism to support phased RSF withdrawal, particularly from North Darfur and North Kordofan.
The Sudanese response proposes that the 90-day humanitarian truce begin nationwide simultaneously with the RSF’s withdrawal from all cities under its control, and it says the truce is intended to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery, protect civilians and create conditions for the resumption of indirect ceasefire negotiations between the warring parties.
The document also calls for preserving the Sudanese Armed Forces as a unified national army under government authority, with all armed groups integrated into it, and it says final security arrangements would be implemented under a signed and binding agreement by the Sudanese government.
Army rejects limited RSF exit
Reuters documents reviewed by the agency show the Sudanese army conditioned any broad acceptance of a U.S. proposal on “the withdrawal of (the RSF) from all the cities it has occupied since May 11, 2023,” after the U.S. proposal last month called for an immediate 90-day humanitarian truce.
The documents, whose contents were confirmed by senior Sudanese officials, say the U.S. proposal included a UN-led mechanism to support limited withdrawals by the RSF, prioritising North Darfur where the RSF recently took over the city of al-Fashir, and North Kordofan, a current target of RSF drone strikes.
The Sudanese government accepted most of the proposal but objected to only a limited withdrawal, and the Reuters report describes the army demand for broad RSF withdrawal as a repeated stumbling block in previous peace efforts.
In a social media post, U.S. Senior Adviser for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos said he was “extremely pleased” to hear that Sudanese army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan “has apparently accepted — rather than rejected — the latest peace proposal”.
The Reuters report also says the U.S. State Department did not respond to a request for comment and the Sudanese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Humanitarian access and accountability
The Sudanese government’s response document says the truce is intended to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery, protect civilians and create conditions for the resumption of indirect ceasefire negotiations, while also calling for the safe, rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid across front lines and border crossings with the approval of the Sudanese government.
“safe, rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid across front lines and border crossings”
It further provides for the deployment of international monitors, subject to the Sudanese government’s approval, to support implementation of the ceasefire and oversee civilian protection, and it includes a political track calling for a comprehensive national dialogue inside Sudan under civilian leadership and UN supervision.
In a December 22, 2025 UN Security Council briefing in New York, Ambassador Jeffrey Bartos condemned violence across Sudan, particularly in El Fasher, in Darfur, and in the Kordofan region, and he also condemned the December 13 attack against UN peacekeepers in Kadugli, in South Kordofan.
Bartos said the United States “unequivocally condemns atrocities committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” and he insisted that “Sudan must be held to account. Accountability is not optional; it is the very foundation of the Convention's credibility,” as he urged the 1591 Sanctions Committee to use sanctions tools.
The U.S. briefing also stressed that the responsibility to end the conflict lies with the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and it said the continuation of the conflict, the fall of El Fasher, the intensification of fighting in Kordofan, and years of war in Khartoum would not have been possible without external financial and military support to the warring parties.
