US Africa Envoy Urges for Truce in Sudan amid ‘World’s Biggest Humanitarian Crisis’
US President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, urged the warring parties in Sudan to accept a three-month humanitarian truce.
Boulos expressed hope to achieve progress toward peace in Sudan, describing the conflict as the “world’s biggest humanitarian crisis,” as violence escalated in recent weeks following the fall of El-Fasher city to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Biggest Humanitarian Crisis
In an interview with AFP, Boulos spoke about the humanitarian situation in Sudan after more than two years of war. “The conflict in Sudan, the humanitarian side of this conflict, is the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis today, and the world’s biggest humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.
The US Africa Envoy pointed to the atrocities committed in El-Fasher after the RSF captured the city. “Especially what happened in El-Fasher in the last two or three weeks. We’ve all seen those videos. We’ve seen those reports. Those atrocities are absolutely unacceptable. This must stop very quickly,” Boulos added.
The RSF declared on October 23, 2025 the capture of El-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur state, after an 18-month siege amid reports of mass killings and sexual violence.
A Call for Humanitarian Truce
Boulos said that the US and other mediators were urging both sides of the war to agree to a proposed humanitarian truce. “It’s being discussed and it’s being negotiated… we’re urging them to accept this proposal and implement it immediately, without delay,” he noted.
The US, alongside Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE – collectively known as the Quad – have urged the warring parties to accept a three-month humanitarian truce to alleviate humanitarian suffering and set the stage for a ceasefire.
In September 2025, the Quad proposed a roadmap for peace in Sudan. The roadmap involved a three-month humanitarian truce, followed by a permanent ceasefire and a 9-month transition to civilian-led government, without the involvement of either warring party.
A week ago, the RSF said it agreed to the humanitarian truce, although it has not committed to it. On the other hand, Sudan’s army-aligned government said it would advance with the war.
The US Africa Envoy said that Washington and its partners hoped for “some breakthrough in the coming weeks” regarding the proposed roadmap, including the transition to a civilian-led government.
However, Boulos stressed that “the top priority right now remains the humanitarian aspect and the humanitarian truce.”
Dire Situation
The war in Sudan broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, triggering what the UN called “the world’s most devastating humanitarian and displacement crisis.”
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced over 14 million inside Sudan and to neighboring countries, and pushed parts of the country into famine amid cholera outbreaks.
In the light of this, the head of the Danish Refugee Council, Charlotte Slente, warned that over half of Sudanese population needs humanitarian aid. Following a visit to an area in Chad that borders Sudan’s western Darfur region, she told AFP that “the suffering we see is unimaginable.”
“We see a situation where more than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. That is half of the population of Sudan,” Slente said, adding that her organization had seen evidence of mass killings and sexual violence in Sudan.
“There are violations that cross all international humanitarian laws. We see detentions, we see abductions, forced displacement and torture,” Slente noted.
She also criticized the international community’s inaction. “Statements have a very limited impact both on the ongoing humanitarian needs on the ground, and they have not been able to stop the violence,” she said, adding that the international community “must start preventing atrocities.”
Concerns over Weapons Supplies
A few days ago, the US State Secretary, Marco Rubio, voiced alarm over the “horrifying” situation in Sudan, blaming the RSF for the violence. “They’re committing acts of sexual violence and atrocities, just horrifying atrocities, against women, children, innocent civilians of the most horrific kind. And it needs to end immediately,” he said.
Rubio also called for cutting off weapons supplies to the paramilitary force. “I think something needs to be done to cut off the weapons and support that the RSF is getting as they continue with their advance,” he noted, adding that the US knows the parties involved.
Since the fall of El-Fasher, the RSF has unleashed heinous attacks against civilians, killing hundreds while tens of thousands remain trapped in the city or have disappeared as they tried to escape.
On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously backed a new, independent investigation into mass killings reported in El-Fasher. The investigation will look into who ordered and carried out the massacres. After that, the UN could possibly share the findings with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
