Sudan’s Burhan urges Trump to help end war with RSF as peace efforts stall

Sudan’s Burhan urges Trump to help end war with RSF as peace efforts stall

Sudan’s army chief and de facto leader, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, has appealed to US President Donald Trump to intervene and help halt the devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a war that has ravaged the country since April 2023.

In an op-ed published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal, Burhan wrote that “the Sudanese people now look to Washington to take the next step,” urging Trump to use his influence to push for a lasting peace. The general praised what he described as Trump’s “honesty” and “decisive leadership,” saying many Sudanese believe he has the resolve to confront “foreign actors prolonging our suffering.”

The plea comes as repeated attempts to broker peace between Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), have collapsed. The war has killed tens of thousands, displaced 12 million people, and triggered the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis.

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Trump recently signaled interest in helping end the conflict after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged him to get involved. The US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are all currently attempting to broker a truce between the warring factions.

In his 1,200-word article, Burhan framed the war as a fight “between a sovereign state trying to protect its citizens and a genocidal militia bent on destroying communities.” In January, the United States formally determined that the RSF committed genocide in Darfur.

However, Burhan’s own forces have also faced allegations of atrocities during the conflict, including attacks on civilians and indiscriminate shelling of residential neighborhoods.

Burhan acknowledged that he had long viewed the RSF as a looming threat, calling it “a powder keg.” The two men—once allies who jointly removed Sudan’s civilian transitional government in 2021—fell out in a long-running power struggle that erupted into full-scale war on April 15, 2023.

As Sudan continues to unravel, Burhan’s call for Trump’s intervention marks a significant shift in diplomatic messaging, reflecting growing desperation for international action to halt the worsening crisis.

Sudan’s Burhan urges Trump to help end war with RSF as peace efforts stall