Sudan defence minister says army to keep fighting after US truce proposal

Sudan's Defence Minister Hassan Kabroun said on Tuesday that the army would press on with fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after the country's security and defence council met to discuss a US proposal for a ceasefire.

"We thank the Trump administration for its efforts and proposals to achieve peace," Kabroun said in a speech broadcast on state television, adding that "preparations for the Sudanese people's battle are ongoing."

"Our preparations for war are a legitimate national right," he said, following the council meeting in Khartoum.

No details of the US truce proposal have been made public.

Al Fasher capture

The war, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions more over the past two years, has spread to new areas of Sudan in recent days, sparking fears of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe.

After mediating in other conflicts in Africa and the Middle East in recent months, the US administration under President Donald Trump is now pushing for a ceasefire in Sudan.

The army-aligned authorities had rejected an earlier truce proposal under which both they and the paramilitaries they are fighting would be excluded from a transitional political process.

The latest discussions follow an escalation on the ground, with the paramilitary RSF appearing to prepare an assault on the central Kordofan region after it captured Al Fasher, the last army stronghold in the vast Darfur region.