Sudan’s RSF Announces Three-Month Ceasefire as Pressure Mounts from Trump and Quad Nations.
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces said late Monday that it would enter an immediate three-month humanitarian ceasefire, marking the paramilitary group’s most significant public concession since the conflict with Sudan’s army erupted nearly two years ago.
The declaration comes days after President Donald Trump signaled he would intervene to push for an end to a war that has pushed Sudan to the brink of famine.
The United States, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia — the diplomatic grouping known as the Quad — earlier this month proposed a three-month truce followed by negotiations.
The RSF initially indicated support for the plan but then launched drone strikes on army positions, underscoring the volatility of the battlefield and doubts about whether any ceasefire could hold.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF commander, framed Monday’s announcement as a gesture toward international pressure. “In response to international efforts, chiefly that of His Excellency US President Donald Trump … I announce a humanitarian ceasefire including a cessation of hostilities for three months,” he said, urging Quad nations to pressure the Sudanese Armed Forces to reciprocate.
The announcement immediately deepened tensions with Sudan’s military leadership. On Sunday, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected the Quad proposal outright, accusing the initiative of weakening the army while allowing the RSF to consolidate territory seized during the war.
He dismissed the RSF as “rebels” who could not be part of any future political settlement.
The ceasefire call comes as the RSF faces growing international scrutiny over its conduct following its capture of al-Fashir in late October.
Rights groups and U.S. officials have accused RSF fighters of committing atrocities across Darfur and expanding attacks in Kordofan as they attempt to seize control of the country’s center.
Both Dagalo and Burhan are under U.S. sanctions, and Washington has accused the warring parties of exacerbating a humanitarian crisis that has killed tens of thousands of civilians since April 2023.
The war began over disagreements on integrating the RSF into the national military but quickly spiraled into one of the world’s most destructive conflicts, displacing millions and creating conditions the United Nations describes as “near famine.”
The UAE, which Burhan has accused of arming the RSF — a charge Abu Dhabi denies — said the army chief’s refusal to consider a ceasefire was undermining diplomatic efforts. “His repeated refusal to accept a ceasefire demonstrates consistently obstructive behavior,” Reem bint Ebrahim al-Hashimy, the UAE’s minister of state for international cooperation, said Monday.
At the same time, Massad Boulos, the White House adviser on African and Arab affairs, held talks in Abu Dhabi with the UAE’s foreign minister, signaling Washington’s intensifying focus on the conflict.
Whether the RSF’s unilateral announcement marks a genuine shift or a tactical pause remains unclear. Previous ceasefire declarations by both sides have collapsed within hours. But with famine looming and international pressure mounting, diplomats say even a fragile pause could prove critical in opening space for renewed talks — if Sudan’s military agrees to join.
