Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Friday they are closely following intensified international diplomacy over the country’s conflict and declared their full and serious acceptance of initiatives aimed at stopping the war that has raged for more than two and a half years.
In an official statement, the RSF thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of the Quad countries – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt – for what it called their “appreciated efforts” and “good offices” to mediate in Sudan’s conflict and secure a ceasefire. The group said it highly values these moves, describing them as support for a path designed to end the fighting and restore stability.
War broke out between General al-Burhan’s army (SAF) and the RSF in April 2023 after a power struggle during a fragile transition that was supposed to lead to elections and a shift to civilian rule. The confrontation quickly escalated into a nationwide conflict, splitting Sudan into areas controlled by the SAF and others held by the RSF, and turning the crisis into one of the region’s most complex wars.
The RSF now holds the entire Darfur region in western Sudan, having announced its capture of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, after an 18-month siege. The SAF, for its part, maintains control over the eastern half of the country.
This entrenched military and political division, the statement suggested, underlines the scale of the challenge facing regional and international efforts to end the war and put Sudan back on a path towards stability.
