Sudan tells Arab summit peace plan hinges on halting RSF external support
May 17, 2025 (BAGHDAD) – A Sudanese Sovereign Council member on Saturday demanded an end to foreign support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the lifting of a siege on El Fasher city as conditions for implementing a peace roadmap presented to the United Nations.
Ibrahim Jaber, who represented Sudan at the 34th Arab Summit in Baghdad, said his government was committed to the plan.
“The government of Sudan is committed to implementing the roadmap presented to the United Nations and mediators,” Jaber told the summit. “This includes a ceasefire accompanied by the withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces from the areas and cities they occupy and the lifting of the siege on El Fasher.”
The roadmap also includes the return of displaced people and refugees, ensuring humanitarian aid access, and resuming a transitional political process with an independent technocratic civilian government, he said. This would follow a comprehensive Sudanese-Sudanese dialogue leading to elections.
“This cannot be achieved unless the supply of weapons and mercenaries to the militia – meaning the Rapid Support Forces – by their regional backers is stopped,” Jaber added. “Only then can the implementation of the roadmap become possible, safeguarding Sudan’s sovereignty, unity, the security of the Horn of Africa and Red Sea security.”
Sudan has repeatedly accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying funds, weapons and recruiting mercenaries for the RSF, allegedly funnelled through Chad. Khartoum also claims Kenya provides political cover for the RSF by hosting meetings for the group and its allies.
Jaber urged Arab leaders and organizations at the summit to back “national solutions which alone will lead to sustainable peace whose impact will extend to the entire region,” and called for contributions to Sudan’s reconstruction.
He said the RSF had targeted Sudanese institutions and infrastructure with advanced weaponry and foreign mercenaries, backed by “regional support known to all.”
Jaber described the summit as an opportunity for Sudan to reaffirm its commitment to joint Arab action. He also reiterated Sudan’s “firm position on the necessity of establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” and rejected the displacement of Palestinians.
He congratulated Syria on the lifting of sanctions, commending Saudi Arabia’s role in the matter.
The original Arabic news report also mentioned that U.S. President Donald Trump had announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria during a visit to Riyadh, at the request of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.