Sudanese leader urges civilian role in US-led peace push
August 17, 2025 (UUSIKAUPUNKI, Finland)– A Sudanese civilian leader on Saturday urged international mediators to ensure pro-democracy groups are given a central role in any political process to end Sudan’s war, warning that a deal struck only between the rival generals would lead to a new dictatorship.
The call from Yasir Arman, a senior figure in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) Revolutionary Democratic Current, comes as the United States prepares a new initiative to halt the conflict.
The planned U.S. process is expected to involve key regional countries Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Last week, U.S. Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos met with Sudan’s army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in Switzerland to discuss a peace plan for the war-torn country.
Speaking at a peace symposium in Finland, Arman insisted that any sustainable peace requires the inclusion of the civilian forces that led the country’s 2019 popular revolution.
“For a sustainable peace and democracy, the Sudanese stakeholders, especially the pro-democracy civilian forces, need to be involved from the beginning,” Arman said. “They are the custodians of their own future.”
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Arman described the conflict as a “forgotten war,” citing figures of around 15 million people displaced or seeking refuge and half a million either killed, wounded, or missing.
While the warring factions frame the conflict as a battle for the country’s soul, Arman argued their true goal is a struggle for power and resources.
“Both projects of the warring factions are leading to a dictatorship and totalitarianism,” he stated, warning they could eventually agree to a power-sharing deal that abandons the Sudanese people.
Islamists and a unified army
Arman accused remnants of former President Omer al-Bashir’s regime and the Sudanese Islamic Movement of instigating the war to reverse democratic gains. He called on the international community to designate them as a terrorist organization to help clear a path for peace.
He also stressed that long-term stability in Sudan is impossible without dismantling the country’s numerous militias and building a single, professional national army.
Arman, a former armed combatant who now advocates for non-violent change, said a stable Sudan was crucial for the security of the Red Sea, the Horn of Africa, and the Sahel.