Sudan’s army leader appeals to Donald Trump to broker peace, citing his decisive leadership amid failed ceasefire attempts and genocide accusations.
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has publicly called on US President Donald Trump to help end the country’s devastating civil war.
The de facto leader made his appeal in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published on Wednesday, addressing the conflict that began in April 2023.
“The Sudanese people now look to Washington to take the next step: to build on the US president’s honesty and work with us to end this war,” Burhan wrote.
He described Trump as “a leader who speaks directly and acts decisively” who could confront “foreign actors prolonging our suffering”.
The army chief has repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates of backing his rivals, though he didn’t name them directly in the article.
Burhan’s forces have been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 12 million others.
It has created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis despite multiple failed peace attempts.
Trump recently expressed interest in the war after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman urged his involvement.
The US and Saudi Arabia have previously attempted to broker ceasefires between the warring factions.
Both the army and RSF have previously stonewalled these negotiation efforts.
In his 1,200-word piece, Burhan framed the conflict as “between a sovereign state trying to protect its citizens and a genocidal militia”.
The United States determined in January that the RSF had committed genocide in Darfur.
Burhan’s government remains internationally recognized despite allegations against his own forces.
The army has been accused of targeting civilians and indiscriminately shelling residential areas.
Burhan wrote that he “long recognised that the RSF was a powder keg” before their alliance collapsed.
The power struggle between Burhan and Daglo erupted into full-scale war on April 15, 2023.
Daglo’s fighters were originally contracted by Khartoum before becoming Burhan’s deputy after Sudan’s 2018-2019 uprising.
