RSF Accepts US-Led Humanitarian Truce After Allegations of Massacre in El Fasher

RSF says it will accept Quad truce amid global outcry over El Fasher

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has announced it will accept a United States-led humanitarian truce after international condemnation over alleged mass killings in the city of El Fasher.

The RSF’s statement said: "In response to the aspirations and interests of the Sudanese people, the Rapid Support Forces affirms its agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad countries." The diplomatic grouping known as the Quad includes the United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. There was no immediate public response from the Quad or the US.

Diplomatic sources cautioned that the RSF’s declaration does not guarantee a ceasefire, since the Sudanese army has so far appeared to reject the proposal. A Sudanese military official told The Associated Press that the army would only accept a truce if the RSF fully withdrew from civilian areas and surrendered its heavy weapons.

Background to the conflict

The conflict began in April 2023 as a power struggle between Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto head of state, and his deputy Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), commander of the RSF. The fighting has created a severe humanitarian crisis: roughly 14 million people have been displaced and independent estimates place the death toll potentially as high as 150,000.

In September the Quad proposed a three-month truce leading to a ceasefire and a nine-month transition toward civilian rule. Both the RSF and the army have previously agreed to ceasefire proposals that later collapsed.

Allegations of atrocities in El Fasher

RSF forces overran El Fasher in Darfur late last month. Satellite imagery and field reports since then have prompted serious allegations of ethnic-targeted killings of Black African residents and the presence of suspected mass graves. Rights researchers and analysts have warned that thousands may have been killed.

The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, which has monitored the siege, reported that recent satellite images show suspected mass graves at the El Fasher children’s hospital and at a mosque in the Daraja Oula neighbourhood. The lab said imagery from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3 revealed trenches and other signs consistent with organized body-disposal operations.

Survivors who escaped El Fasher described people being stopped and executed while trying to cross a sand berm erected around the city. Later imagery showed bodies removed from that berm and large trucks operating in areas under RSF control.

One diplomatic source suggested the RSF’s public acceptance of the Quad truce may be an attempt to shift international pressure back onto the army, after the alleged atrocities in El Fasher intensified scrutiny of outside backers such as the UAE, which strongly denies supporting the militia.

Outlook and humanitarian concerns

It remains unclear whether the army will accept the RSF’s move or whether the truce will be implemented on the ground. Humanitarian agencies warn that continued fighting and blockades across front lines are driving famine risks in several regions and complicating relief efforts for millions of civilians.

Note: Investigations into alleged atrocities are ongoing. Independent verification on the ground remains difficult due to insecurity and restricted access to affected areas.