Sudan

SAFF chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has flatly rejected the Sudan peace proposal backed by the “Quad” group and accused senior U.S. adviser Musad Boulos of lying about the influence of Islamists inside the military. Addressing senior officers in Omdurman, Burhan said “it is impossible to accept the Quad as a mediator in this crisis,” describing Boulos’s repeated references to Muslim Brotherhood influence in the SAF as a “scarecrow” used for political pressure. “The talk about the Brotherhood being inside the armed forces is untrue and a lie,” he said. Burhan condemned the Quad roadmap as “the worst paper ever presented,” claiming it “cancels out the armed forces, calls for dissolving all security agencies and leaves the rebel militia in its areas.” He added: “We fear that Musad Boulos could become an obstacle to the peace all Sudanese are seeking,” accusing the U.S. official of “threatening and claiming that the government is blocking humanitarian convoys and has used chemical weapons.” The general vowed to continue fighting until the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are defeated. “We are not war-mongers and we do not reject peace,” he said. “But no one can threaten us or impose conditions on us. No one will force Hamedti or Hamdok on us. Those dreaming of ruling Sudan, starting with Hamdok, will not be able to rule it again.” His comments come around three weeks after RSF fighters completed their takeover of the Darfur region and pushed further into neighbouring Kordofan. International and regional pressure has grown for implementation of the Quad plan, which centres on a three-month humanitarian truce, a ceasefire and a political settlement to end a war that has killed an estimated 150,000 people and displaced more than 12 million. As external pressure has increased, Muslim Brotherhood networks and allied vested-interest groups have intensified their campaign against the international proposal. Analysts say any serious effort to resolve Sudan’s crisis must link a halt to the war with dismantling Brotherhood influence and patronage structures inside the SAF, security services and key sectors of the economy, and rolling back the wider system of “empowerment”. On Friday, the European Union urged both warring parties to return to negotiations and agree to an immediate, permanent ceasefire in line with the Quad roadmap issued on 12 September, Sky News Arabia reported.