Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, at war with the regular army for more than two years, announced on Thursday that they had agreed to a proposal for a humanitarian truce put forward by mediators.

The announcement follows the paramilitaries' capture of the major city of El Fasher, dislodging the army from its last stronghold in the vast western Darfur region.

"In response to the aspirations and interests of the Sudanese people, the Rapid Support Forces affirms its agreement to enter into the humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad countries," the RSF said in a statement, referring to the United States, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The military-aligned government did not immediately comment on the RSF's announcement.

Earlier in the day, army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan had said his forces were "striving for the defeat of the enemy".

"Soon, we will avenge those who have been killed and abused... in all the regions attacked by the rebels," he said in a televised address.

The government had indicated earlier this week that it would press on with the war following an internal meeting on a ceasefire proposal.

The details of the mediators' proposal have not yet been made public, though a previous version put forward in September had called for a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to civilian rule that would have excluded both warring sides.

In its statement, the RSF said the ceasefire was needed "to address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war and to enhance the protection of civilians", as well as to "ensure the urgent delivery of humanitarian assistance".

The fall of El Fasher gave paramilitaries control over all five state capitals in Darfur, raising fears that Sudan would effectively be partitioned along an east-west axis.

The RSF now dominates Darfur and parts of the south while the army holds the north, east and central regions along the Nile and Red Sea.

The conflict in Sudan, raging since April 2023, has pitted the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan against those of his former deputy, RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Daglo.

MENAFN06112025000049011007ID1110307196