“We are now extending our hands for peace,” the RSF chief said

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces Chief Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo said the RSF is open to an “immediate” and “unconditional” cease-fire with the Sudanese army, as the conflict in Sudan grinds on into its ninth month.

The RSF is “committed to ending [the] war,” Dagalo, who is known as Hamedti, said, calling the ongoing conflict the “worst crisis” in the northeast African nation’s history.

“We are now extending our hands for peace,” said Dagalo on Tuesday, speaking at a joint press conference in Addis Ababa with former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, as the RSF signed the Addis Ababa Declaration with the Taqadum civilian coalition — the paramilitary group’s clearest commitment to ending the conflict thus far.

Dagalo invited the Sudanese Army to do the same. The warring generals have reportedly not met face-to-face since the start of the conflict in April.

“In the declaration we agreed on the one army. There is no way Sudan would, I think, stay as a peaceful country if we have this multiplicity of armies,” Dagalo said.

The RSF chief is on the last stop of his regional tour, his first trip outside Sudan since the onset of the conflict. As diplomatic efforts to forge a cease-fire and a meeting between the waring generals continue, Dagalo on Wednesday held talks with Kenyan President William Ruto in Nairobi. Dagalo also visited Djibouti, Ethiopia and Uganda.