In his self-portrayal as a global peacemaker, President Donald Trump prefers to employ arm-twisting pressure to stop a conflict, such as in Gaza. Yet for one of the most intractable wars – a civil conflict in Africa’s third-largest country, Sudan – he might be relying on principled persuasion.
The reason? Mass atrocities against civilians on both sides of that 18-month-long war have pushed many nations with a strategic stake in Sudan to join a Trump-led effort for a humanitarian truce. On Monday, the U.S. senior adviser for Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, said Sudan’s rival military forces have agreed in principle to a three-month truce, which would allow safe corridors for delivery of vital aid.
If a pause in fighting does help the millions of Sudanese in need, it would be a nod to a global norm that recognizes the innocence of civilians in battle zones. And here’s the overlooked benefit: If the two armies driving the conflict can agree to allow access for aid, the initial goodwill can be a toehold of trust for more difficult talks on a political peace.
“Sudan’s tragedy is not inevitable,” wrote Medani El Shibly, executive director of the Cognizance Centre for Strategic Studies, in the Sudan Tribune. If a truce is well enforced, monitored, and financed, he added, “it can turn the battlefield into a bridge toward peace.”
A due respect for the protection of civilians is not the only force at work. Many Sudanese participated in a 2019 pro-democracy uprising that felled a dictator. After the military ended that dream, and then split into two warring factions, civilian activists have kept alive a popular desire for a sustainable democratic transformation.
But first, Sudanese needs a softening of hearts after frequent massacres of civilians. The latest massacre, which occurred in late October in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, was even denounced by the leader of the Rapid Support Forces that were accused of the atrocity. Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo promised that any soldier who committed a crime would be held accountable.
He also told his troops: “Do not harm [civilians], do not attack their property, their land, or their honour.” If he means it, the United States-led peace plan has a future.
