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The Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced late on Monday that they would immediately enter into a three-month humanitarian truce. This comes in the wake of President Donald Trump's declaration last week that he would intervene to bring an end to the devastating war in Sudan, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, widely reported massacres of civilians and plunged the country into famine.
Earlier this month, the United States, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, collectively known as the Quad, proposed a plan for a three-month truce followed by peace talks after horrific stories emerged.
Monday's statement seemed to announce a unilateral ceasefire just a day after Sudan's army chief dismissed the Quad's proposals. The Sudanese Army has pointed fingers at the UAE for arming the RSF.
However, the UAE has refuted these accusations and stated its intention to halt the war. "In response to international efforts, chiefly that of His Excellency U.S. President Donald Trump ... I announce a humanitarian ceasefire including a cessation of hostilities for three months," declared General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of RSF, in a speech on Monday.
"We hope the Quad countries will play their role in pushing the other side to engage with this step," Dagalo added.
The war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 when the RSF and Sudanese Army disagreed on integrating the two groups, leading to a famine that killed tens of thousands of civilians.
Dagalo, also known as Hameedi, made these comments at a time when the RSF had carried out brutal attacks on civilians after seizing control of the city of al-Fashir in late October.
Sudan's army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has accused the U.S. proposal of intending to undermine the Sudanese army whilst permitting the RSF to retain the territory it has captured.
"No one in Sudan will accept the presence of these rebels or for them to be part of any solution in the future," Burhan declared.
'There's a place on earth called Sudan'
Speaking at a US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, where MBS was in attendance, Trump recounted how the crown prince had opened his eyes to the horrors unfolding in the war-torn African nation.
"His Majesty would like me to do something very powerful having to do with Sudan. It was not on my charts to be involved in that," Trump admitted, highlighting the unexpected nature of the crown prince's request.
The president described how MBS had explained the conflict to him and encouraged him to intervene, saying: "But working with the crown prince, was amazing because he mentioned Sudan yesterday, and he said, 'sir, you're talking about a lot of wars, but there's a place on Earth called Sudan,' and it's horrible what's happening."
Trump decries "tremendous atrocities" in social media post
In a subsequent social media post, Trump decried the "tremendous atrocities" taking place in Sudan, declaring it "the most violent place on Earth and, likewise, the single biggest Humanitarian Crisis."
"Food, doctors, and everything else are desperately needed," the president added, underscoring the urgency of the situation.
Chaloka Beyani, recently appointed as Special Adviser of the Secretary-General for the Prevention of Genocide, painted a grim picture of the conflict, warning of "massive violations of international human rights law, direct attacks on civilians, noncompliance with international humanitarian law, which regulates conduct in relation to hostilities, and that the attacks are largely on civilians."
Casualty estimates vary amid dire humanitarian crisis
In a country ravaged by war, where no systematic record of the dead exists, casualty estimates vary widely. Some sources suggest the death toll hovers around 150,000, but human rights organizations fear the true cost of the civil war is far higher.
The conflict has displaced a staggering fourteen million people out of a population of fifty-one million, with half of them seeking refuge in neighboring countries, reports the Atlantic Council.
As of April 2025, a shocking twenty-five million Sudanese were facing acute famine, and according to Doctors Without Borders, over 70 percent of children under the age of five were acutely malnourished.
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