Sudan’s prime minister urges U.N. Security Council to back monitored cease-fire plan
NEW YORK — Sudan’s prime minister called on the U.N. Security Council to stand “on the right side of history” by endorsing a peace plan for his war-torn country that would impose a nationwide cease-fire and bring international monitoring to the conflict.
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Since April 2023, Sudan’s army has been locked in a brutal fight with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which controls the west and parts of the south. The war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, deepening one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“We need to declare a comprehensive ceasefire, under joint monitoring by the United Nations, the African Union and the League of Arab States, in parallel with the withdrawal of the rebel militia from all areas it occupies,” Prime Minister Kamil Idris said at U.N. headquarters in New York.
Idris said his government would organize free elections after a transition period to allow for “inter-Sudanese dialogue,” a process he argued is essential for a sustainable political settlement once the fighting stops.
Despite his appeal at the United Nations, Idris did not meet with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to a U.N. spokesperson.
Diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict have struggled to gain traction. In November, U.S. President Donald Trump voiced willingness to help end the war, but talks led by the United States and other mediators known as the “Quad” — Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — remain at an impasse.
Idris’ proposal seeks to place a prospective cease-fire under joint oversight by the U.N., the African Union and the League of Arab States, and to condition any truce on the RSF’s pullout from territory it currently holds. The prime minister framed the plan as a path to end large-scale violence and clear the ground for a broadly inclusive political process.
His appeal to the Security Council underscores Khartoum’s push for international backing as fighting persists across multiple fronts and the civilian toll rises. The government’s plan centers on verifiable monitoring and withdrawal steps to prevent a return to hostilities, while laying out a transition to elections built on internal dialogue among Sudanese factions.
Whether the Council will move to formally consider the proposal was not immediately clear. For now, Idris’ call adds urgency to a diplomatic track that has yet to produce a durable cease-fire, even as Sudan’s conflict continues to upend lives across the country and the region.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
