Washington: The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt have collaboratively proposed a roadmap aimed at achieving peace in Sudan, a nation torn apart by conflict. This initiative calls for an immediate three-month humanitarian truce, which is to be succeeded by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transitional process to establish civilian-led governance.
According to Deutsche Welle, the joint statement was released on Friday by the foreign ministers of these four nations. They emphasized that the future governance of Sudan should be determined by the Sudanese people through an inclusive and transparent transition, free from the control of any warring factions. The ongoing conflict in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, displaced millions, and is described by the United Nations as one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.
Initially, a meeting between the foreign ministers was scheduled for July in Washington but was delayed due to disagreements between Egypt and the UAE. The joint statement also underscored the importance of Sudan's unity, although there remains uncertainty about the willingness of the warring factions to engage in dialogue. The Sudanese army currently holds control over the east, north, and center of the country, while the RSF dominates most of the Darfur region, where it has established a parallel government, raising concerns of a potential de-facto partition.
The proposal also rejected the involvement of any "violent extremist groups part of or evidently linked to the Muslim Brotherhood" in the transition process, referring to the Islamist group that controlled Sudan until 2019 and has resurged in support of the army during the ongoing conflict. Meanwhile, the US has imposed sanctions on Sudanese Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim and the Baraa Ibn-Malik Brigade, an Islamist militia allied with the army, to curb Islamist influence and Iran's regional activities, which have exacerbated regional instability and civilian suffering.
The statement concluded by reiterating that there is no viable military solution to the conflict, and the current situation only exacerbates suffering and poses significant risks to peace and security in the region.