The US-led Quad is shifting from proposals to enforcement of its original Washington humanitarian ceasefire across Sudan, coordinating with EU and regional partners to make the plan stick amid ongoing atrocities, a Western diplomat said, adding that “enforcement by force” remains on the table if violations persist.
Sudan’s Port Sudan-based SAF junta has submitted its own two-stage truce outline to the Cairo working group—three months followed by nine—but Quad officials have acknowledged receipt while continuing to press their September blueprint.
On the ground, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have publicly accepted the Quad proposal, signaling readiness to proceed under the Washington terms. By contrast, General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) have yet to endorse the plan, with diplomats describing Khartoum’s submission as a bid to slow-roll or reshape the process rather than lock in the Washington framework.
The working group led by White House Africa adviser Musaad Boulos has received Khartoum’s notes, but momentum is now behind implementing the Quad’s original plan: secure humanitarian access and a cessation of hostilities, then leverage coordinated international backing to compel compliance where voluntary buy-in is lacking.
