How Trump's pledge to tackle Sudan atrocities could play out

November 29, 2025

Sudan's civil war has devastated the country for two and a half years, displacing nearly 12 million people and causing famine conditions, yet multiple peace initiatives have failed to achieve progress. US President Donald Trump has recently pledged personal involvement after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested his intervention, despite Trump initially considering the conflict too chaotic to engage with directly. The war reached new depths of brutality when the Rapid Support Forces captured el-Fasher following a 500-day siege, killing an estimated 5,000 people in ethnically targeted massacres.

Who is affected

Nearly 12 million Sudanese people driven from their homes
Sudanese civilians living in famine conditions in parts of the country
Residents of el-Fasher who experienced killing, rape, and looting (with at least 5,000 estimated deaths)
Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (armed forces chief and leader of UN-recognised government)
Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo/"Hemedti" (RSF head)
Islamists within Burhan's coalition
Civilians who protested to bring down former President Omar al-Bashir seven years ago
Regional states: Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
US President Donald Trump, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan

What action is being taken

US President Donald Trump is working with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates to end the violence
Egypt and Turkey are stepping up arms supplies to the Sudanese army
The UAE is reportedly increasing its weapons supplies to the RSF
The "Quad" (US, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) is implementing a plan with three elements: humanitarian aid access, ceasefire, and political dialogue
The US is relying on quiet diplomacy to persuade the Emiratis to use their leverage over the RSF
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior advisor for Africa Massad Boulos have been working on a peace plan for six months

Why it matters

This conflict represents one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises, with Sudan described as "the most violent place on Earth" and nearly 12 million people displaced. The war threatens to permanently partition the country while regional powers fuel the violence through continued arms supplies to opposing sides. Trump's personal intervention could potentially break a long-standing pattern where Sudanese military leaders reject peace formulas when losing (vowing revenge) and when winning (insisting they can finish the job completely). However, the complex rivalry between Saudi Arabia and the UAE for influence across the Arab world, combined with disagreements over how to handle Islamist groups, creates significant obstacles to achieving peace. Without successful intervention, Sudan faces continued mass atrocities, famine, and potential transformation into an Arab dependency rather than achieving the democracy and justice that civilian protesters demanded.

What's next

Trump would need to exert pressure on the UAE to end its reported backing of the RSF
The Quad needs to close the gap between the Sudanese warring parties to achieve a ceasefire
If a ceasefire is won, $3 billion is urgently needed for humanitarian aid
A massively stepped-up aid effort would be required to prevent any truce from being fragile
A long and fraught road to peace would follow any ceasefire, addressing Sudanese polarization, distrust of generals, and civilian demands for democracy and justice

Read full article from source: BBC