The head of the Sudanese Armed Forces has rejected a ceasefire plan presented by the “Quad”, alleging that the United Arab Emirates’ involvement in the Quad is biased and that the proposal aims to eliminate the army.

The UAE has long rejected accusations that it is arming and funding the RSF. In March, it slammed a Sudanese move to file a case against it in the International Court of Justice, calling the charges a “cynical publicity stunt”.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told senior officials in an address released by his office late on Sunday that the proposal put forward this month by the Quad – Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US – “effectively eliminates the existence of the armed forces and … the dissolution of all security agencies” while it “maintains the rebellious militia in its positions”.

In a response on Monday, the UAE’s minister of state for international cooperation Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy accused al-Burhan of “consistently obstructive behaviour”.

“Once more, General Burhan refuses peace overtures. In his rejection of the US Peace Plan for Sudan, and his repeated refusal to accept a ceasefire, he demonstrates consistently obstructive behaviour,” Al Hashimy said.

“This must be called out,” she said.

Fears that a pause remains out of reach

Al-Burhan’s response raises fears that the bitter civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 14 million or more and sparked a humanitarian crisis – is set to continue.

Al-Burhan also lashed out at Massad Boulos, senior adviser in regional affairs to US President Donald Trump, for his part in the proposal.

He said Boulos, who has accused the army of obstructing humanitarian aid and using chemical weapons, could become an obstacle to peace.

However, the army chief praised Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who raised the issue of Sudan’s war during a trip to Washington last week and called for serious efforts to bring it to an end.

At the same time, al-Burhan said the Quad lacks credibility, stating: “The entire world has witnessed the UAE’s support for rebels against the Sudanese state.”

“If the mediation continues in this direction, we will consider it to be … biased.”

‘Catastrophic humanitarian consequences’

The RSF said this month that it “affirms its agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce” portion of the proposal, because it addresses the “catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war”.

The plan envisages a three-month truce that could pave the way for a lasting political solution. It would also establish a new civilian government, after a coup in 2021.

However, the RSF continues to rampage across Sudan’s western region of Darfur, over which it took full control after ousting the army from the city of el-Fasher last month.

Satellite images from the city, in the meantime, have shown RSF fighters burning and burying bodies in large numbers in an apparent bid to hide evidence of mass killings.

Thousands of people remain missing after fleeing the area, while international organisations and witnesses report mass rape.

The army and the RSF remain engaged in sporadic battles over parts of the Kordofan region in central Sudan.

The RSF on Saturday again pledged to take over the strategic city of Babnusa in West Kordofan from the army’s 22nd Division soon.

Sudan plunged into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

The war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to United Nations figures, but aid groups said that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

The UN said the war has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis as millions of people have been forced to flee their homes and parts of the country have been pushed into famine.