The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt unveiled a joint roadmap to halt Sudan’s war, calling for an immediate three-month truce to be followed by a permanent ceasefire and a nine-month transition to civilian rule, with the ministers insisting there is “no viable military solution” and urging an end to all outside military support to the belligerents.

What the Plan Demands

The ministers said the transitional process must be inclusive, transparent, and “not controlled by any warring party,” culminating in an independent, civilian-led government with “broad-based legitimacy and accountability,” while humanitarian aid should move “through all necessary routes” during the initial truce.

They also urged an immediate halt to all external military backing for the parties, tying the ceasefire to broader Red Sea security concerns and pledging continued consultations on the sidelines of UN meetings this month. The joint text rejects any role in Sudan’s future for groups “that belong to or are closely linked to the Muslim Brotherhood,” language that followed a previously postponed ministerial meeting over disagreements about excluding the main belligerents from a post-war cabinet.

How We Got Here

The Quad’s move comes after months of rifts among influential Arab states over sequencing—guns-silencing first versus governance first—and amid accusations, denied by Abu Dhabi, that the RSF received outside support, factors that previously stalled initiatives from London to Washington.

Meanwhile, fighting has intensified around El Fasher and across Darfur, where sieges, starvation, and mass abuses have deepened a crisis widely described as the world’s worst humanitarian emergency. Since April 2023, the war has killed well over 100,000 people by some estimates and driven more than 4 million across borders, with millions more displaced inside Sudan as funding gaps widen.

What to Watch Next

Whether commanders accept a three-month truce that swiftly locks into a permanent ceasefire will hinge on guarantees that aid can cross front lines and that neither side dominates the transition. Enforcement will also test regional unity: ending external arms flows and keeping Islamist-linked groups out of transitional structures are politically charged steps requiring synchronized pressure from Cairo, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, and Washington.

If the plan holds, the nine-month timetable could open space for an inclusive civilian process; if it falters, the conflict’s spillovers—refugee flows, famine risks, and Red Sea insecurity—will likely accelerate.