Despite a long war, the Sudanese troops and RSF are open to peaceful processes

In reaction to US President Joe Biden’s call for warring sides to start talking again, Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said they are willing to find peaceful ways to end the more than 17-month-long conflict.

Sudan Army Chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said on Wednesday that the Sudanese government is still open to all positive measures to end the war. Early Thursday morning, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo said the same thing.

“We want to stress again that we are committed to peace talks.” Daglo said on X, “We believe that the way to peace is through dialogue, not random violence. We will continue to work for peace so that all Sudanese civilians can have a future free from fear and suffering.”

Yet, both men blamed the other for failing to end the war, which began in April 2023 and has killed over 12,000 people. They said the other was guilty of abuses. They have not laid out clear steps for finding a peaceful settlement.

The war started when rivalries between the army and the RSF, which had shared power after a coup, turned into full-on fighting.

Last month, US-led mediators said that they had gotten promises from both sides at talks in Switzerland to make it easier for relief aid to get to the area, but that the lack of the Sudanese army at the talks had slowed down progress.

“We stand ready to work with all international partners in pursuit of a peaceful resolution that alleviates the suffering of our people and sets Sudan on a path towards security, stability, the rule of law, and the democratic transfer of power,” Burhan, the army chief, said.