US proposal for Sudan war calls for civil-led transition and full reform of military

The US has proposed a new plan to halt the bloody civil war in Sudan, which includes a civilian-led transition, as fighting continued in the south between the military and the renegade Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The proposal includes "three main tracks", including a humanitarian route to ensure the flow of aid, the delivery of relief, and the restoration of services across Sudan, according to sources cited by Saudi-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. 

The humanitarian track aims to ensure the flow of aid, the delivery of relief, and the restoration of services across Sudan. It also calls for an international committee to oversee a ceasefire and field monitoring to secure aid routes and protect civilians, ensuring their safe return. The New Arab could not independently verify the reports. 

The political track would be led by civil forces, excluding elements of the old regime and Islamists, to discuss the transitional process and support humanitarian efforts. It would start with a truce agreed upon by the army and the renegade paramilitary RSF to launch a full process to end the war.

The military track calls for comprehensive reform, including removing Muslim Brotherhood members from the army and security forces. It also involves restructuring armed groups, integrating some of them, and disbanding others, with the goal of creating a unified, professional army and security institutions under civilian authority resulting from the political process.

Recent days have seen renewed diplomatic activity after US President Donald Trump said he would move to help end the war, following discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit to Washington last month.

A power struggle between the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, blew up in April 2023.

The war is believed to have killed tens of thousands of people and has forced millions out of their homes, in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian and displacement crisis.

Both warring sides have been accused of committing atrocities, especially the RSF after it overtook the city of El-Fasher in the western North Darfur region in late October.

El-Fasher had been the only army-held city in the vast Darfur region, and its capture by Dagalo’s forces, better known as Hemedti, has deepened fears of the country being partitioned.

The regular army now controls much of Sudan’s north, east, and central with control of the southern Kordofan region largely split.

A US-backed plan put forward in September on behalf of the Quad - which includes the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE - called for a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire, and a nine-month transition to civilian-led governance.

The army rejected the proposal, which also hinted at excluding both the army and the RSF from Sudan's post-war political roadmap.

Burhan last week said he had dismissed a plan put forth by Trump adviser Masaad Boulos in November as "the worst yet", accusing him of parroting the UAE's talking points.

Sudan’s army-aligned government has accused the UAE of backing the RSF, something Abu Dhabi has denied.

RSF 'captures' town

The latest developments come as the RSF said on Monday that it seized full control of Babanusa, a transport junction in the country's oil-producing south, though its rival, the Sudanese army, disputed the claim.

In a statement on Monday, the RSF said its "liberation" of Babanusa in West Kordofan state - the latest frontline in the war in Sudan - came as it repelled "a surprise attack" by the Sudanese army in what it called "a clear violation of the humanitarian truce".

On Tuesday, the army denied that the RSF had taken the entire town, and accused its rivals of continuing attacks on Babanusa despite the militia announcing a unilateral ceasefire.

In a statement, the army said RSF fighters had launched daily artillery and drone strikes on the town and that troops had repelled a new assault on Monday. 

(Agencies contributed to this report)