RSF declares end to negotiations with Sudanese army

September 29, 2024 (KHARTOUM) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Sunday it would no longer negotiate with the Sudanese army and would seek a military solution to the conflict, a spokesperson for the paramilitary group said.

The announcement followed an army offensive launched on Wednesday that saw them advance into the Kadaru and Halfaya districts north of Khartoum Bahri. Heavy fighting was also reported in the Al-Muqrin area of central Khartoum.

“We wanted peace, but since they wanted war, we are ready for it, and there will be no negotiations after today because we will be on the battlefield,”  spokesperson of the  RSF negotiating team Mohamed Al-Mukhtar Al-Nur said in a video statement.

He accused the army of launching a relentless war and said the RSF would pursue them “even to Port Sudan.”

The army has demanded that the RSF withdraw from areas under their control, assemble their troops in designated locations, and disarm before any negotiations can take place. They accuse the RSF of violating the Jeddah Declaration signed on May 11, 2023.

The army also rejected a U.S. invitation to participate in negotiations with the RSF in Switzerland on August 15, with Saudi Arabia as a co-host.

Al-Nur dismissed the army and its allies’ mobilization efforts as “failed attempts” and urged RSF fighters to be decisive.

“Now the drums of war have been beaten… We know how to fight the army,” he said.

The Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Minni Arko Minawi, and the Justice and Equality Movement, led by Gibril Ibrahim, are fighting alongside the army against the RSF in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. They are also present in the city of Omdurman, River Nile State in northern Sudan, and Al Qadarif State in the east of the country.