Sudan’s warring parties as far apart as ever despite 'peace plan'

Against the backdrop of the United Nations General Assembly, the Quad has demanded a three-month humanitarian truce to allow aid delivery in Sudan followed by a permanent ceasefire.

The call came by the four Quad countries last Friday (19 September) in a joint statement issued by the US Department of State. The initiative has been accepted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but rejected by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

The foreign ministers of the four Quad countries set out a road map toward ending the conflict, calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire following the truce, and a nine-month transitional process to establish civilian-led governance.

"There is no viable military solution to the conflict, and the status quo creates unacceptable suffering and risks to peace and security," they said.

The statement also referenced the “destabilizing role “ of the Muslim Brotherhood, or affiliated groups in Sudan, a reference to the Islamists who controlled Sudan for three decades until 2019 and have staged a resurgence during the war in support of the SAF.

The Quad statement said, “Sudan’s future cannot be dictated by violent extremist groups part of or evidently linked to the Muslim brotherhood, whose destabilizing influence has fueled violence and instability across the region.”

It was in that context that the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also imposed sanctions on Friday on two Sudanese Islamist actors––Finance Minister Gebreil Ibrahim Mohamed Fediel (Gebreil) and theAl-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade (BBMB)––for their involvement in Sudan's “brutal” civil war and their connections to Iran.  

“Sudanese Islamist groups have formed dangerous alliances with the Iranian regime. We will not stand by idly and allow them to threaten regional and global security,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.

The BBMB is a notorious Islamist militia that fights alongside the SAF.  The statement said, “BBMB has contributed upwards of 20,000 fighters in the conflict against the RSF, using training and weapons provided by the IRGC.”

In addition, the UN Security Council on Friday renewed sanctions against Sudan for an additional year. They included targeted sanctions as well as an arms embargo until 12 September, 2026. The resolution, circulated by the US, was unanimously passed by the 15-member Council. UN Resolution 1591 was initially adopted by the council on March 29, 2005, to impose sanctions on Sudan by specifically targeting individuals and entities involved in the conflict in Darfur. The measures include travel bans, asset freezes and an arms embargo.

The RSF appear to have welcomed the Quad's peace plan but the SAF has distanced itself from the proposals, arguing that only the Sudanese people could decide the future of their country.

Islamist groups further denounced the Quartet’s initiative as an attempt to erase their political role with one dismissing it as a “conspiracy that equates the army with militia” and “an insult that punishes those defending their country while ignoring those who feed the wolf at its mouth.”

“The government of Sudan does not accept any regional or international interference that does not respect the sovereignty of the state of Sudan and its legitimate institutions which are supported by the Sudanese people,” added a Sudan foreign ministry statement.

This response echoes in large part the conviction of General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, who, it is widely reported, seeks to prosecute the war until the RSF surrenders or is defeated on the battlefield. The latest rejection of peace by General Burhan and the SAF comes after they failed to show up for peace talks in Switzerland in August 2024, when Gen. Burhan said, "We will not go to Geneva...we will fight for 100 years." After a recent meeting with U.S. Africa envoy Massad Boulos, Gen. Burhan pledged to fight for “dignity,” defeat the “rebellion.”

The SAF reaction to the Quad's initiative at the weekend has therefore not surprised many Sudan commentators.

The SAF's allies, including Islamist forces, have also rejected the peace initiative. The Secretary-General of the National Forces Coordination, Mohamed Sid Ahmed Sar al-Khatem "Al-Jakoumi," was highly critical of the Quartet's statement, accusing the four countries of imposing international guardianship on Sudan. The Broad Islamist Current Alliance led by Ali Karti expressed astonishment at the language of the Quad group's statement, claiming it attempted to impose external solutions. It is thought that reliance upon, and pressure from, Islamist allies, is one of that factors that may hold the SAF back from embracing peace.

The alignment of the Quartet's roadmap, US sanctions, and UN measures point to a single international strategy with two main elements: excluding Islamist forces from power and enforcing a civilian transition starting with a humanitarian truce. 

With tens of thousands killed over the past two years, and over 13 million people uprooted, this international pincer movement seems more than justified, however modest its chances of success might seem.

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