Rival factions in conflict-torn African state end negotiations
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan announced on Sunday that they will no longer engage in peace negotiations with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and have vowed instead to settle the conflict on the battlefield, a local news agency reported on Monday, citing an RSF representative.
In a video statement, Mohamed Al-Mukhtar Al-Nur declared, “We wanted peace, but since they wanted war, we are ready for it, and there will be no negotiations after today because we will be on the battlefield.” He went on to accuse the nation’s military of relentless aggression and vowed to pursue the army “even to Port Sudan.”
The announcement follows a major SAF offensive; the army advanced into key districts in Khartoum State on September 25. Intense fighting was reported in Al-Muqrin, a central district of the capital Khartoum, marking the largest such assault in months.
Recent shelling by the RSF in Karary District, located north of Omdurman in Khartoum State, has resulted in civilian casualties. Mohamed Ibrahim, a spokesman for the state’s Health Ministry, reported that at least four people had been killed and 14 others injured in the attack on the morning of September 26.
The SAF has insisted that the RSF must withdraw from the territory they occupy and disarm before negotiations can begin. The army has accused the paramilitary force of violating the May 2023 Treaty of Jeddah, which was intended to lay the groundwork for peace.
In mid-August, the SAF turned down a US invitation to participate in talks with the RSF in Switzerland, one of many efforts at peace negotiations which have failed. Additionally, in late September, the diplomatic mission of the UAE in Khartoum accused the Sudanese military of carrying out an airstrike on the residence of the Emirati ambassador. The army denied this, but has repeatedly claimed that the UAE is actively supplying weapons to the paramilitaries.
Sudan has been mired in a brutal conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the SAF and the RSF after months of escalating tensions. According to a report issued following a recent UN fact-finding mission, the conflict has left tens of thousands dead or injured, displaced nearly eight million people internally in the nation of roughly 47 million, and forced two million more to seek refuge in neighboring countries. The UN has described the humanitarian situation in Sudan as one of the world’s most severe crises.
