Abdel Fattah al-Burhan says UAE cannot be involved as it backs the RSF, signaling that fighting is to continue for now.
The head of the Sudanese Armed Forces has rejected a ceasefire plan presented by the United States and other mediators due to the involvement of the United Arab Emirates.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told senior military commanders and security officials during an address released by his office late on Sunday that the truce proposal put forward this month by the “Quad” – the moderator group including the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – is “the worst one” yet.
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The criticism suggests that the bitter civil war between the government-aligned army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 14 million or more and sparked a humanitarian crisis – is set to continue.
The commander branded the proposal “unacceptable,” asserting that it “effectively eliminates the existence of the armed forces and… the dissolution of all security agencies” while it “maintains the rebellious militia in its positions.”
He said Sudan demands the RSF must withdraw and be confined to specific areas as part of any potential ceasefire.
UAE’s role questioned
Al-Burhan reiterated that Sudan considers the Quad to lack credibility due to the role of the UAE.
“The entire world has witnessed the UAE’s support for rebels against the Sudanese state,” he said.
“If the mediation continues in this direction, we will consider it to be biased mediation.”
The UAE is widely accused of arming and funding the RSF and helping to prolong the conflict to further its own regional interests and gain access to Sudan’s gold and other minerals.
The UAE rejects the chargescalling them a “cynical publicity stunt.”
“We’re not warmongers, and we don’t reject peace,” al-Burhan said, “but no one can threaten us or dictate terms.”
Al-Burhan also lashed out at the US, singling out Massad Boulos, the Lebanese-born businessman who is acting as a senior adviser in regional affairs to President Donald Trump, for his part in the proposal.
He said Boulos could become an obstacle to peace due to the US envoy’s accusations that the army is obstructing humanitarian aid and using chemical weapons.
However, the army chief praised Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who raised the issue of Sudan’s war during a trip to Washington last week and called for serious efforts to bring it to an end.
‘Catastrophic humanitarian consequences’
The RSF said this month that it had agreed to the Quad proposal because it addresses the “catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war.”
The plan envisages a three-month truce that could pave the way for a lasting political solution. It would also establish a new civilian government in a country where the ruling military commanders took power after several coups.
However, the RSF continues to rampage across Sudan’s western region of Darfur over which it took full control after ousting the army from the city of el-Fasher last month.
Satellite images from the city in the meantime have shown RSF fighters burning and burying bodies in large numbers in an apparent bid to hide evidence of mass killings.
Thousands of people remain missing after fleeing the area while international organizations and witnesses report mass rape.
The army and the RSF remain engaged in sporadic battles over parts of the Kordofan region in central Sudan.
The RSF on Saturday again pledged to take over the strategic city of Babnusa in West Kordofan from the army’s 22nd Division soon.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.
The war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to United Nations figures, but aid groups said that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.
The UN said the war has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis as millions of people have been forced to flee their homes and parts of the country have been pushed into famine.
