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WASHINGTON : The United States, ��������, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt called on Friday for a three-month humanitarian truce in Sudan, to be followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition toward civilian rule.
In a joint statement issued by the US State Department, the four countries said the transition should “meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people toward smoothly establishing an independent, civilian-led government with broad-based legitimacy and accountability.”
Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by war between its army — which maintains control over most state institutions — and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and created what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“Sudan’s future governance is for the Sudanese people to decide through an inclusive and transparent transition process, not controlled by any warring party,” Friday’s statement said.
The statement appeared to have been released in lieu of a meeting involving the foreign ministers of the four countries that had originally been scheduled for July in Washington but was postponed due to disagreements between Egypt and the UAE.
Egypt, a key ally of Sudan’s regular army, has consistently called for the protection of state institutions.
The UAE, meanwhile, has been widely accused — including in UN reports — of supplying arms to the RSF, a claim it denies.

Diplomatic sources told AFP that Cairo objected to earlier language barring both the army and the RSF from taking part in the transition.
The final language appears to reflect a compromise, avoiding specific mention of either side while insisting Sudan’s next government be decided by the people.
It also explicitly excludes the involvement of “violent extremist groups part of or evidently linked to the Muslim Brotherhood” in the transition process.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Sudan’s army-aligned finance minister, Gebreil Ibrahim, a senior Islamist figure, and on the Baraa Ibn-Malik Brigade, an Islamist militia that has been fighting alongside the army.
Islamists dominated Sudanese politics for three decades under ousted president Omar Al-Bashir and have seen a resurgence during the war, aligning with the army.
“These sanctions aim to limit Islamist influence within Sudan and curtail Iran’s regional activities, which have contributed to regional destabilization, conflict, and civilian suffering,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
Despite international efforts to push for peace, it remains unclear whether the warring factions are willing to engage.
In June, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a one-week ceasefire in North Darfur’s besieged capital of El-Fasher. The army agreed to the pause, but the RSF rejected it.
Both sides have repeatedly vowed to continue fighting until securing outright military victory.
The army currently controls Sudan’s east, north and center, while the RSF holds parts of the south and nearly all of the western Darfur region — where it recently declared a parallel government, fueling fears of the country’s fragmentation.
Friday’s joint statement, however, maintained “there is no viable military solution to the conflict, and the status quo creates unacceptable suffering and risks to peace and security.”
 

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met the new head of the US military’s Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper in Damascus on Friday, his office and CENTCOM said.
The United States has for years maintained a troop presence at a series of bases in Syria as part of efforts against the Islamic State jihadist group, which overran swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq in 2014.
“The meeting addressed prospects for cooperation in the political and military fields in the service of shared interests and consolidating the foundations of security and stability in Syria and the region,” the Syrian presidency said in a statement.
The meeting, which was joined by US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, “reflected the positive atmosphere and shared interest in strengthening the strategic partnership and expanding channels of communication between Damascus and Washington,” it added.
A CENTCOM statement said Cooper and Barrack thanked Sharaa for “his support to counter Daesh in Syria,” using another acronym for the jihadist group.
“Eliminating the Daesh threat in Syria will reduce the risk of an Daesh attack on the US homeland while working toward President (Donald) Trump’s vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors,” CENTCOM said.
They also “offered praise to Syria for supporting the recovery of US citizens inside the country,” it added.
Several US citizens went missing or were killed during Syria’s civil war which erupted in 2011.
In April, the Pentagon announced it would roughly halve the number of troops it has in the country to fewer than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a “consolidation” of US forces.
Barrack said in June that the military would eventually close all but one of its bases in Syria.
The United States periodically targets the jihadist group’s remnants with raids or strikes to prevent its resurgence.
Cooper was appointed in early August to lead CENTCOM, the US military command responsible for the Middle East.
Earlier this month, he was in Israel on his first visit to the US ally since taking up post, the Israeli military said.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, despite opening an unprecedented dialogue with the Islamist transitional authorities.