ISTANBUL

Sudan on Tuesday called a humanitarian truce unilaterally declared by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “a blatant political maneuver,” in contrast to its assaults on the ground.

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said on Monday that his forces and allied groups have agreed to an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that includes a halt to all hostile actions for three months.

The unilateral humanitarian truce announced by Dagalo “is nothing more than a blatant political maneuver that starkly contradicts the grim reality his forces have created on the ground,” Sudanese Minister of Culture, Information, and Tourism, Khalid Al-Ayasir, said in a statement.

Ayasir accused the RSF of besieging and starving defenseless civilians, targeting them with drone strikes, and burying others alive in several cities in Sudan, of which the most recent are North Darfur’s El-Fasher and North Kordofan’s Bara cities.

“Therefore, it is impossible to take his talk of a ‘truce for humanitarian considerations’ seriously or in good faith,” he said.

The Sudanese minister said the RSF exploited previous truce attempts, particularly the Jeddah Declaration, “to smuggle arms and ammunition to its mercenaries and achieve military gains at the expense of civilians.”

In May 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF reached an agreement in Jeddah on protecting civilians after mediation by the US and Saudi Arabia.

Several ceasefire deals were reached, but the repeated violations by the two rivals and mutual accusations pushed Washington and Riyadh to suspend their mediation.

Last month, the RSF seized El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, and was accused of committing massacres against civilians by local and international rights groups.

“His (Dagalo’s) statement yesterday is merely another attempt to deceive the international community and polish an image already disfigured by undeniable facts of the crimes and ongoing violations committed by his forces,” the minister said.

He called for the implementation of a roadmap submitted by the chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, to the UN, as “the most effective path” to a permanent truce.

In February, the Sudanese government announced a roadmap for resolving the Sudanese crisis. It includes several pillars, most notably launching an inclusive national dialogue for all political and societal forces.

The plan also calls for forming a government of independent national experts, helping the state overcome the consequences of war, “laying down arms, and vacating civilian sites as a precondition for any talks with the rebellion.”

Since April 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a war that regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.