KHARTOUM: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for an immediate ceasefire and for both the military and the RSF to negotiate a settlement.
Writing on 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.
The appeal came as Sudan’s top general has rejected a ceasefire proposal provided by US-led mediators as “the worst yet.”
In video comments released by the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan said the proposal was unacceptable, 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 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 UN 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.
Gen. Al-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 a biased mediation,” he said.
He lashed out at the US 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,” Gen. Al-Burhan said.
Gen. Al-Burhan denied that hard-liners control the military or that it used chemical weapons in its fighting against the RSF.
Gen. Al-Burhan said the military will only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas to allow displaced people to return 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.”
