Khartoum- Sudan- August 14, 2025
In a significant development for the war-torn nation of Sudan, a high-level meeting has taken place between the United States’ senior advisor for Africa and the chief of the Sudanese army to discuss a new peace proposal. This meeting marks the highest-level engagement in months and signals a potential renewed effort by the U.S. to broker an end to the conflict that has ravaged the country since April 2023.
According to Sudanese government sources, the U.S. senior advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, met with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the de facto leader of Sudan and head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), in Switzerland. The three-hour meeting on Monday focused on a U.S. proposal for a comprehensive ceasefire and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to a country grappling with what the United Nations has described as the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
The conflict, which pits the SAF against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. While previous mediation efforts, including those led by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire, the current diplomatic push appears to be a more direct attempt by Washington to intervene. The U.S. had previously tried to rally other influential external powers—Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE—to find a united approach, but these efforts were hampered by disagreements, particularly between Egypt and the UAE, over the role of the army in a transitional peace process.
A key point of contention during the discussion was the future political landscape of Sudan. The sources revealed that General al-Burhan, who returned to his wartime capital of Port Sudan on Tuesday morning, told the U.S. envoy that the RSF “has no political role in Sudan.” This firm stance highlights a major hurdle to any potential peace deal, as the RSF has fought to secure a political foothold. The war, which erupted from a power struggle between al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has effectively fragmented the country, with the army controlling the north, east, and center, while the RSF and its allies hold a large portion of the western Darfur region and parts of the south.
The meeting comes as the fighting on the ground shows no signs of abating. Despite the SAF successfully recapturing the capital city of Khartoum in March, the RSF has intensified its attacks on al-Fashir, a state capital in Darfur, making it a critical frontline in the war. The ongoing violence and instability have led to a catastrophic humanitarian situation. The UN has warned that nearly 25 million people are facing extreme hunger, and there are severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. International bodies have also raised alarms about widespread human rights abuses committed by both sides.
While the details of the U.S. peace plan remain confidential, its discussion with al-Burhan is a significant step forward. The fact that the Sudanese army chief, who has been known to decline previous mediation attempts, agreed to the meeting indicates a potential shift in his approach or an acknowledgment of the increasing pressure from the international community.
The U.S., along with its international partners, has been a major provider of humanitarian aid to Sudan and has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to both the SAF and RSF for human rights abuses and ceasefire violations. However, critics of U.S. policy have argued that Washington has not given the conflict the attention it deserves, and that a more robust and coordinated diplomatic effort is needed to prevent further escalation and a regional spillover. The outcome of these discussions and any subsequent talks will be closely watched as a crucial test of whether a diplomatic solution can bring an end to the brutal and devastating war.
