Sudanese army intercepts drone attacks on cities after RSF agrees to truce

Army-backed government yet to give an official response to Quad’s proposal for ceasefire leading to civilian rule.

Loud explosions have been heard in Sudan’s army-held capital Khartoum, shortly after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it was ready for a truce after fighting the government-aligned Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for more than two years of brutal civil war.

The attacks took place early Friday, targeting Omdruman, part of the greater Khartoum area, and army-held Atbara to the north of the capital, and were intercepted by the army’s air defence systems, according to Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan.

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The day before, the RSF had responded positively to a ceasefire idea proposed by the Quad, a group comprising international mediators – the United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

SAF has yet to give an official response to the proposal, which would see a three-month humanitarian pause followed by a permanent ceasefire that would ostensibly pave the way for an eventual political transition to civilian rule.

A Sudanese military official told the news agency The Associated Press on Thursday that the army welcomed the proposal, but would only agree to a truce when the RSF completely withdraws from civilian areas and gives up weapons.

Reporting from Khartoum, Al Jazeera’s Morgan said that it seemed the army would continue fighting until the RSF met its conditions. The RSF, for its part, would also continue fighting until the army agreed to the Quad’s proposal, she said.

Khartoum has seen relative calm since the regular army regained control this year, but the RSF continues to mount attacks in several regions.

Conflict shifts east

On Thursday, the Sudan Tribune newspaper reported diplomatic claims that the US had tried to incentivise army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to agree to the truce in exchange for lifting sanctions and granting investment opportunities in the mining sector.

The RSF’s announcement that it agreed to the truce comes more than a week after the group seized el-Fasher city, which had been under siege for more than 18 months. It was also the last Sudanese military stronghold in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

That takeover was accompanied by reports of mass killings, sexual violence and looting, triggering international condemnation.

There are now fears of further atrocities as the conflict shifts east towards Khartoum and the oil-rich Kordofan region.

Quad member the United Arab Emirates is accused by the United Nations of supplying arms to the RSF, allegations it has vehemently denied.

Asked on Sunday about the allegations, senior UAE diplomat Anwar Gargash said that the international community made a “critical mistake” in supporting both al-Burhan and rival RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”, when they deposed a Western-backed power-sharing government in 2021.

War broke out in 2023 when tensions erupted between al-Burhan and Dagalo, killing at least 40,000 people, according to WHO. Aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.

The worst suffering has befallen the civilian population in what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.