Although the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been fighting the army for more than two years, have formally endorsed a ceasefire proposal, an end to the war in Sudan remains nowhere in sight.
The government aligned with the army has yet to respond to the initiative put forward by international mediators led by the United States, while fresh explosions were heard again on Friday in Khartoum, which remains under military control.
Experts doubt that the RSF are genuinely prepared to halt hostilities and warn instead that the group is preparing an offensive on the southern city of El-Obeid.
Even so, the conflict may be approaching an inflection point.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by fierce fighting between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and units commanded by his former deputy, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The United Nations has accused the United Arab Emirates of supplying weapons to the RSF—allegations Abu Dhabi has repeatedly denied.
Analysts note that the Sudanese army, in turn, is receiving support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Iran.
At this stage, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt are all pushing for a ceasefire agreement.
This is the situation after two years and nearly seven months of war—a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, forced almost 12 million people from their homes, and triggered a major food crisis.
After the Fall of El-Fasher, the Fighting Shifts Toward Khartoum and Kordofan
Less than two weeks ago, the RSF seized El-Fasher—the army’s last major stronghold in western Darfur.
The takeover was accompanied by reports of mass killings, sexual violence, and looting, prompting a sharp response from the international community. There are now growing fears that similar atrocities could be repeated as the fighting shifts eastward—toward Khartoum and the oil-rich Kordofan region.
Under external pressure, the RSF have declared their willingness to consider a ceasefire, but the army has not responded, and observers remain skeptical.
“Their only goal is to deflect attention from the atrocities currently being committed in El-Fasher and to present themselves as a more responsible actor than the army,” Cameron Hudson of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies told AFP.
According to him, the army’s leadership “is focused on regaining control over all of Kordofan and then plans an offensive on El-Fasher.”
The fall of El-Fasher has enabled the RSF to establish control over all five provincial capitals in Darfur and parts of the south, while the army holds the northern, eastern, and central regions along the Nile and the Red Sea.
“Now that the RSF controls the whole of Darfur, they have an incentive to ensure the delivery of food and aid to territories under their command, while the army is determined not to let them consolidate those gains,” Hudson noted.
The details of the ceasefire proposal have not yet been made public. According to a senior Saudi official, it envisions “a three-month cessation of hostilities” during which both sides would be urged to hold talks in Jeddah on a permanent peace agreement.
Explosions in Khartoum and Atbara Within a Day of the Ceasefire Declaration
On Friday, less than 24 hours after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) formally endorsed the ceasefire initiative, explosions were heard in Khartoum and in the army-held city of Atbara, some 300 kilometers north of the capital, eyewitnesses told AFP.
Khartoum had remained relatively calm in recent months after the regular army restored control over the city, but the RSF continues to carry out attacks in several regions.
A resident of Omdurman, part of the greater Khartoum area, told AFP on condition of anonymity that “at around two in the morning I woke up to the sound of explosions near the Wadi Seidna military base.”
Another eyewitness reported that “at about four a.m. I heard a drone, and shortly afterward there was an explosion near the power plant, which left the neighborhood without electricity.”
In Atbara, one local resident said he saw several drones before dawn on Friday. “Air defenses shot them down, but I saw the glow of fires and heard explosions in the eastern part of the city,” he said, also requesting anonymity.
No casualties have been reported. Neither the army nor the RSF has commented on the incidents, although it is known that since losing control of the capital, the RSF has used long-range drones to strike areas held by the army.
RSF Shell Hospital in Besieged Dilling, Several Wounded
In the south of the country, the Sudanese Doctors Union accused the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of shelling a hospital in the besieged city of Dilling in South Kordofan on Thursday morning, wounding several people.
The union said the shelling “destroyed the hospital’s radiology and diagnostic department,” effectively disabling one of the region’s key medical facilities.
Dilling has been under RSF blockade since June 2023. The city lies roughly 150 kilometers southwest of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and a crucial transport hub linking Darfur with Khartoum.
South Kordofan on the Brink of Famine as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens Rapidly
Independent verification of events in Dilling is difficult due to intense fighting and the lack of communications, but the city is facing a severe humanitarian emergency.
According to data from the Rome-based Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), Dilling is on the brink of famine, while the state capital Kadugli is already experiencing it.
Famine has also been recorded in El-Fasher in Darfur and in three nearby camps for displaced people. Last year, the IPC declared famine conditions in parts of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan.
South Kordofan, which borders South Sudan, is regarded as one of Sudan’s most resource-rich regions and includes the Heglig oil field—one of the largest in the country.