Sudan's top general rejects US-led ceasefire proposal, calling it 'the
worst yet'
[November 25, 2025]
BY SAMY MAGDY
CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s top general rejected a ceasefire proposal provided
by U.S.-led mediators in a blow to efforts to stop a devastating war
that has gripped the African country for over 30 months.
In video comments released by the military late Sunday, Gen.
Abdel-Fattah Burhan said the proposal was unacceptable and “the worst
yet," accusing the mediators of being “biased” in their efforts to end
the war.
Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the
military and the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded
into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the
country.
The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to
U.N. figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true
number could be many times higher. It created the world’s largest
humanitarian crisis with over 14 million people forced to flee their
homes, fueled disease outbreaks and pushed parts of the country into
famine.
The mediators, known as the Quad, have been trying for over two years to
bring an end to the fighting and reestablish a path to democratic
transition which was hampered by a military coup in 2021. They are
comprised of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
This month, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he plans to put
greater attention on helping find an end to Sudan's war after being
urged to take action by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during
his visit to the White House.
On Monday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called for an
immediate ceasefire and for both the military and the RSF to negotiate a
settlement.
Writing on social platform X, he also called for a “safe & unimpeded
delivery of humanitarian aid," as well as an end to arms and fighters
transfer to Sudan.
“We need peace in Sudan,” Guterres said.
Massad Boulos, a U.S. adviser for African affairs, told The Associated
Press earlier this month that the latest proposal calls for a
three-month humanitarian truce followed by a nine-month political
process.
The RSF said it has agreed to the truce, following global outrage over
the paramilitaries’ atrocities in the Darfur city of el-Fasher. In a
video speech late Monday, the paramilitary commander Gen. Mohammed
Hamdan Dagalo reiterated the group's commitment to a three-month
humanitarian truce and called for mediators to pressure the military to
accept the proposal.
[to top of second column]
|
Burhan, Sudan's top general, said however that the proposal “is
considered the worst document yet,” since it “eliminates the Armed
Forces, dissolves security agencies and keeps the militia where they
are” — referring to the RSF.
“If the mediation continues in this direction, we will consider it
to be biased mediation,” he said.
He lashed out at the U.S. adviser and accused him of attempting to
“impose some conditions on us.”
“We fear that Massad Boulos will be an obstacle to the peace that
all the people of Sudan seek,” Burhan said, without given further
details about the plan.
In his comments, Burhan also took aim at the UAE. He said that since
the Quad includes the Gulf country as a member, the mediation group
was “not innocent of responsibility, especially since the entire
world has witnessed the UAE’s support for the rebels against the
Sudanese State.”
In a statement Monday, the UAE's Foreign Ministry said Burhan,
through his rejection of the ceasefire proposal, showed “obstructive
behavior,” which it said “must be called out.”
The UAE is widely accused by rights groups of arming the
paramilitaries. The AP reported earlier this month that U.S.
intelligence assessments for many months have found that the
Emirates, a close U.S. ally, has been sending weapons to the RSF,
according to a U.S. official familiar with the classified reports
who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details.
The UAE denies backing the paramilitaries.
Burhan denied that the military is controlled by Islamists or that
it used chemical weapons in its fighting against the RSF — an
accusation leveled by the Trump administration in May.
Burhan said the military will only agree to a truce when the RSF
completely withdraws from civilian areas to allow the return of
displaced people to their homes, before embarking on talks for a
political settlement to the conflict.
“We’re not warmongers, and we don’t reject peace,” he said, “but no
one can threaten us or dictate terms to us.”
___
Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
