Minnawi Warns: Ceasefire Without RSF Withdrawal Would Divide Sudan
Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minnawi has declared that any ceasefire agreement reached without the complete withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) from cities and civilian areas would effectively mean the partition of Sudan. In a statement released on his social media accounts, Minnawi said that the RSF must first withdraw from residential neighbourhoods, release abductees, and guarantee the return of displaced citizens before meaningful peace talks can begin. He cautioned that discussing a truce while the militia remains entrenched in population centres amounts to “legitimising occupation under the guise of peace.”
Minnawi, who leads the Joint Force of Darfuri movements allied with the Sudanese Armed Forces, stressed that calm cannot exist where “the aggressor is still armed and positioned among civilians.” He criticised international efforts that promote temporary humanitarian truces, arguing that such proposals ignore the realities of ongoing atrocities in Darfur, especially in El Fasher, where mass killings have continued under RSF control.
In a parallel statement, the Joint Force said that any credible ceasefire must begin with the withdrawal of the RSF and the prosecution of those responsible for war crimes. It underlined that protecting civilians, documenting genocide, and enabling the return of displaced families form the foundation of true peace. Agreements lacking these guarantees, it warned, would simply “reproduce the catastrophe.”
The Joint Force, active in North Darfur, North Kordofan, Khartoum, and northern Sudan, called on the international community to take moral and legal responsibility for the situation. It urged sanctions on all governments and organisations that continue to finance and arm the RSF despite mounting evidence of genocide and atrocities against the Sudanese people.
