Minawi demands RSF withdrawal from cities as condition for truce

November 8, 2025 (PORT SUDAN) – Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi demanded on Saturday the withdrawal of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from cities, the release of abductees, and the safe return of the displaced as conditions for any truce.

“Any truce without this means the division of Sudan,” Minawi, who heads the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), said.

Minawi also oversees the Joint Force, a coalition of Darfur movements fighting alongside the army. In a separate statement, the force echoed his conditions.

The army’s stance on the U.S.-backed humanitarian truce, which the Quad mechanism aims to secure, remains ambiguous.

Sudan’s Security and Defence Council, which met last week, did not issue a decisive opinion on the truce. It welcomed efforts by Washington’s envoy to end civilian suffering but simultaneously emphasized the “continuation of general mobilization” to defeat the RSF militarily.

The Joint Force has deployments in North Darfur, North Kordofan, Khartoum, and Northern Sudan.

The RSF seized control of El Fasher on October 26. The takeover was followed by widespread reports of mass killings and sexual violence, drawing popular anger and international condemnation.