Al-Burhan lashes out at U.S. peace mediation, rejects deal to include RSF

KHARTOUM – Sudan’s army chief, General Abdelfattah al-Burhan, sharply rejected a U.S.-led peace proposal on Sunday, accusing the United States of presenting a plan designed to dismantle the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and legitimize the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

In a speech to senior military generals in Khartoum, al-Burhan, who is also head of the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council, delivered his strongest declaration yet that the SAF will not compromise on the withdrawal of the RSF from occupied cities.

He specifically targeted U.S. regional envoy Massad Fares Boulos, accusing him of bias and acting as a “channel for RSF narratives.”

Al-Burhan described the latest proposal delivered by Boulos, which was put forth by the four-nation “Quad” (United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates), as “the worst yet” submitted to the military leadership.

“Any initiative that recognizes the rebels, we do not accept,” al-Burhan said, referring to the RSF, which he often describes as the “Janjaweed” or the “RSF militia.”

The army chief asserted that the third and most recent draft proposal called for dissolving Sudan’s security services while allowing RSF units to remain entrenched in cities they have seized in Darfur and Kordofan states.

Al-Burhan reiterated the army’s demand that any ceasefire must be accompanied by the RSF’s withdrawal from all areas captured since the last round of talks. He warned that a truce without territorial reconfiguration would only allow the militia to reorganize and consolidate its gains.

“We have no objection to halting operations, but the ceasefire must be tied to the withdrawal of this militia from all areas it entered after the Jeddah talks… Only then can life return,” he stated, referencing a peace roadmap the SAF had previously proposed.

He also used the speech to attack allegations that the military is controlled by Islamist networks, calling the claims a foreign-backed narrative designed to weaken the SAF. He affirmed that any military restructuring would be carried out by Sudanese officers alone, without external influence.

The army chief urged the international community to align with a separate Saudi-led diplomatic initiative, which he framed as strategically central to the stability of the Red Sea corridor.

The Joint Force of the Armed Struggle Movements (JSAMF), a pro-SAF coalition of former Darfur rebel groups, also weighed in with a strong statement, rejecting any talk of a truce while the RSF continues to occupy cities and commit alleged atrocities, including in El-Fasher.

“Any talk of de-escalation or a truce, while cities remain under occupation and militias continue to occupy residential neighborhoods, hospitals, and civilian facilities, is nothing more than an attempt to beautify violence and allow the aggressor to reposition itself under the banner of peace,” the coalition said in a statement on November 8.

“The real truce does not begin with statements, but with the withdrawal of the aggressor forces, the assurance of civilian protection, and the accountability of those responsible for their crimes,” it added.