(RSF) Deny Reports of Negotiations with Sudanese Army

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have denied reports suggesting there are any communications with the Sudanese Army, stating: “We categorically declare that there are no negotiations, neither secret nor public.”

In a statement released Monday night into Tuesday, the RSF affirmed that their forces are proceeding “with full determination and strength in their decisive battle.”

Media circles affiliated with the Transitional Sovereign Council, headed by Army Commander-in-Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had made hints on social media platforms that were interpreted as a trial balloon to gauge Sudanese public opinion regarding potential future negotiations between the two parties.

The official spokesperson for the RSF negotiating delegation, Commander’s Advisor Mohamed Al-Mukhtar Al-Nour, denied receiving any invitation to a negotiation forum; “Therefore, the RSF’s decision in principle was to suspend negotiations with the Sudanese Army.”

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the Rapid Support Forces previously made every national effort to stop the war and participated in all initiatives and forums to which we were invited. But due to the lack of seriousness from the other party — the Sudanese Army — we have now reached the conviction to permanently suspend negotiations. Our principle is clear: military resolution on the ground.”

Al-Mukhtar added: “Every time our forces make military advances on the ground, the Sudanese Army resorts to maneuvering by speaking of opening channels for negotiations to end the war. But we will not fall for this again.”

He continued: “The claims of ongoing negotiations or any such direction are baseless. Circulating such statements at this time is a media tactic to test public sentiment and gauge opinion within the army camp and among allied forces that have escalated tensions and mobilized the street with war rhetoric.”

The RSF spokesperson emphasized: “We will not negotiate with the army or its allied groups. Our language with them now is military resolution.”

A previous agreement between the Sudanese Army and the RSF, hosted in Manama, Bahrain, in January 2024, failed. It was signed in principle by RSF Deputy Commander Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo and Sovereign Council Member and Army Deputy Commander Shams al-Din Kabbashi.

Earlier, in May 2023, the two warring parties signed the Jeddah Declaration of Principles to protect civilians, under mediation by Saudi Arabia and the United States. However, the RSF failed to implement it on the ground.

Other negotiation rounds called by the United Nations in Geneva in August 2023 also stalled due to the absence of the Sudanese Army delegation. Nonetheless, mediators succeeded in reaching indirect understandings to open all land crossings for the delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict in the Darfur region, western Sudan.

General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, has repeatedly stated that “there will be no negotiations or dialogue with the RSF until all cities under their control are evacuated and their forces are gathered in camps to be agreed upon.”

Meanwhile, Yassir Saeed Arman, head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – Revolutionary Current, said that the visit of former U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia is “a rare opportunity to revive the Jeddah Initiative and push it forward with regional and international partners.”

In a Facebook post, he added: “Sudanese people hope that Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries will contribute to advancing the agenda of ending the war, achieving peace, and reaching a humanitarian ceasefire.”

Similarly, Omar Al-Digair, head of the Sudanese Congress Party, said: “The Jeddah platform still represents a suitable mechanism for resuming negotiations, based on previous agreements — provided there is genuine will to achieve peace and build upon any past understandings between the parties in other forums.”

In a verified Facebook post, he added: “We hope Trump’s tour will push toward resuming mediation efforts through the Jeddah platform with a more comprehensive and effective vision.”