Sudan army demands full RSF withdrawal before backing U.S. peace plan

Sudan’s army has made full Rapid Support Forces withdrawal from every city the paramilitaries occupy a condition for backing a U.S.-drafted peace plan, putting the latest diplomacy at risk before it can even take hold. The dispute goes to the core of whether a ceasefire can work while armed factions still control urban territory.

The U.S. proposal, drawn up last month, called for an immediate 90-day humanitarian truce, then negotiations on a permanent ceasefire and a civilian-led transition to elections. It also outlined a United Nations-led mechanism to support limited RSF withdrawals, especially from North Darfur and North Kordofan, where the RSF has been active and where fighting and drone strikes have intensified.

The army-led government said that approach was not enough. It insisted on withdrawal from every city occupied since May 11, 2023, a deadline that marks the scale of territory the RSF has held during the war. The demand raises the stakes for any truce because the same question has repeatedly blocked earlier attempts to stop the conflict: who pulls back first, and who guarantees that the other side follows.

The broader plan also called for a unified national army, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration arrangements, and a civilian-led political process excluding the Muslim Brotherhood and militia elements accused of atrocities. Those provisions show how wide the gap remains between a temporary halt in fighting and a settlement that could actually be enforced.

The practical consequences extend beyond negotiations. The war has displaced millions of people, killed hundreds of thousands by multiple estimates and helped spread hunger and disease across Sudan. United Nations experts have accused the RSF of genocide in Darfur, underscoring the stakes of any deal that leaves armed forces entrenched in cities. If the army holds firm on total RSF withdrawal before broader political guarantees are settled, Washington’s latest effort may become another failed attempt to convert outside diplomacy into an enforceable peace.