NAIROBI, November 5. /TASS/. Sudan’s army has rebuffed a US proposal for a ceasefire, saying it will rally public support to fight against the paramilitary Rapid Response Forces that have taken control of the western part of the country, Bloomberg reported.
"The council decided to mobilize the Sudanese people to support the armed forces in eliminating the rebel militia within the framework of general mobilization and the state’s efforts to end this rebellion," the country’s interim governing body, the Sovereignty Council, said in a statement, as cited by the news agency.
According to Bloomberg, "the decision came after army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan chaired an emergency meeting of the military’s defense council on Thursday to discuss the security situation in the North African nation."
Bloomberg reported earlier, citing sources, that Sudan’s army was weighing a US plan for a ceasefire between the warring parties. The media outlet added that Egypt was "pushing the military in the North African country to accept Washington’s proposal."
The plan's details have not been disclosed.
The situation in Sudan escalated in April 2023 amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the Sovereignty Council, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Clashes erupted in Khartoum and soon spread across the country, killing at least 40,000 people. About 12 million people had to flee their homes. The most difficult situation is in Darfur, particularly near the city of El Fasher. El Fasher, the administrative center of the North Darfur province and the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in the region, was besieged for about a year and a half. The Rapid Support Forces captured the city on October 26.