A leading Sudanese civilian council has welcomed fresh US and Gulf efforts to halt Sudan’s spiralling war, saying it is “ready to engage seriously” in any credible peace initiative that can stop atrocities and protect civilians.
The statement followed comments by US President Donald Trump on Truth Social, where he pledged to work with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and “other partners in the Middle East” to end the fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). His remarks came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s rare visit to Washington this week, during which he urged greater US involvement to stop the war.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF exploded into full-scale war. The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 11 million people, creating what aid agencies describe as the world’s worst displacement crisis.
The stakes have risen sharply since the RSF’s recent offensive on North Darfur’s capital, el-Fasher. Rights groups and local doctors say the paramilitary seized the besieged city after weeks of bombardment, leaving thousands dead and large parts of the city in ruins. UN and humanitarian agencies estimate that around 100,000 people have fled el-Fasher and surrounding villages in recent weeks, many without food, shelter or medical care.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stepped up pressure on foreign backers of the RSF, publicly calling for an end to weapons shipments to the group. In a recent call with the UAE’s foreign minister, Rubio stressed the need for a humanitarian ceasefire and warned that continuing arms flows are prolonging the bloodshed. An adviser to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo accused Rubio of undermining ceasefire efforts, highlighting the diplomatic tensions around the war.
The UAE has repeatedly denied allegations that it supplies arms to the RSF, but UN experts and human rights groups say there is mounting evidence that sophisticated artillery and Chinese-made munitions reached the paramilitary via Emirati channels, in breach of the Darfur arms embargo. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, are broadly aligned with the regular army, seeing Sudan’s military as a buffer protecting their own strategic interests along the Nile and the Red Sea.
Saudi officials have warned that a prolonged collapse in Sudan could destabilise the Red Sea corridor and open new space for extremist groups, while US officials fear the conflict could metastasise into a regional proxy war if outside powers do not rein in support for their preferred factions.
The Sudanese council said any peace process must include meaningful civilian participation and accountability for atrocities committed in Darfur and elsewhere. “There can be no sustainable peace built only by the gunmen and their foreign sponsors,” it said, urging Washington, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to back a “genuine transition to civilian rule, not just a rebranded dictatorship.”
