RSF Welcomes Trump’s Initiative to End Sudan War
Sudan's RSF welcomed President Trump's initiative to end the war, affirming full cooperation with international mediation. The group controls roughly one-third of Sudan as conflict continues with the Sudanese Armed Forces.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of his intention to work toward ending the ongoing war in Sudan, affirming that the group will respond “fully and seriously” to international mediation initiatives.
On Wednesday, President Trump declared his determination to stop what he described as the “atrocities” unfolding in Sudan between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces, a conflict that has raged since April 2023. Trump said his position came in response to a request from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In a statement published on Telegram, the RSF said it is following “with great attention and appreciation the intensified international efforts regarding the situation in Sudan,” adding that it “announces its full and serious response to these initiatives.”
The group extended “deep thanks to His Excellency President Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, and to the leaders of the Quartet countries for their valued efforts and sincere endeavors to mediate the Sudanese conflict in order to stop the war imposed on us.”
The statement came as Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, led by Army Commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, also expressed readiness on Wednesday to cooperate with Washington and Riyadh.
The RSF reiterated that “the real obstacle to achieving peace is the clique controlling the decisions of the armed forces — remnants of the former regime and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.”
RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti” frequently frames the conflict as a battle against “extremist Islamists” within the opposing camp, though he himself cooperated with Burhan in 2021 to remove civilian partners from government.
Negotiations between the two sides have stalled for months. In September, the mediation group known as the “Quartet” — the United States, Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia — proposed a plan including a three-month ceasefire and the exclusion of both the current government and the RSF from any post-war political arrangement. The army has so far rejected that condition.
In early November, the RSF announced its acceptance of a humanitarian truce following its capture of El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in the Darfur region.
Since then, the United Nations has reported massacres, rape, looting, and mass displacement in the city.
The Sudan war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions, and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis.
The RSF, which now controls roughly a third of Sudan, has intensified its attacks in recent weeks in the oil-rich Kordofan region neighbouring Darfur. The group has also declared the “imminent liberation” of the city of Babnousa — under siege since January 2024 — one of the army’s few remaining positions in West Kordofan and a strategic hub linking western Sudan to the capital, Khartoum.
Meanwhile, Save the Children said on Friday that a cargo plane carrying 40 tons of medical supplies — the largest shipment since March — arrived this week in Port Sudan, the temporary base of the army-aligned government.
