Documents: Sudanese Army Demands RSF Withdrawal from Cities in Response to U.S. Peace Proposal

Documents reviewed by Reuters show that the Sudanese Armed Forces have conditioned their broad acceptance of a U.S. peace proposal on the complete withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from all cities under their control, as part of efforts to end the war that has continued for more than three years.

According to the documents, whose contents were confirmed by senior officials, the U.S. proposal presented last month calls for an immediate 90-day humanitarian ceasefire to pave the way for negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a peaceful civilian-led political transition culminating in national elections.

The proposal also calls for the establishment of a United Nations-led mechanism to support limited withdrawals of RSF forces, giving priority to North Darfur, where the RSF recently captured El Fasher following a major offensive, and North Kordofan, which has become a target of RSF drone attacks.

The documents indicate that Sudan’s army-led government accepted most elements of the proposal but objected to the provision for only limited withdrawals. Instead, it insisted that the plan should require the RSF to withdraw from all cities it has controlled since 11 May 2023.

The army’s demand for a comprehensive RSF withdrawal has been a recurring obstacle in previous peace negotiations.

Neither the U.S. Department of State nor Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately responded to requests for comment.

The U.S. proposal also calls for the creation of a unified national army, accompanied by disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) arrangements, as well as a civilian-led Sudanese political process that excludes members of armed groups accused of committing atrocities.

After initially informing the United Nations Security Council that Sudan had rejected the proposal, U.S. Senior Advisor for Arab, Middle Eastern, and African Affairs Massad Boulos said in a social media post last week that he was “very pleased” to learn that Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan appeared to have accepted, rather than rejected, the latest peace initiative.

United Nations experts have accused the RSF of committing genocide in Darfur, where the group has consolidated its control and begun establishing a parallel administration.

The RSF denies deliberately targeting civilians. An RSF official told Reuters that the group had received the latest U.S. proposal, welcomed it, and submitted a written response, but declined to provide further details.

The RSF is currently conducting a drone campaign in the Kordofan region, which lies between Darfur and the eastern parts of Sudan controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces.