SUDAN: Sudan’s warring parties were set to hold their first face-to-face talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Saturday, Washington and Riyadh said, as mediators pushed for an end to a conflict that has claimed hundreds of lives and forced tens of thousands to escape abroad.
In a joint statement, the US and Saudi Arabia welcomed the beginning of “pre-negotiation talks” between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Jeddah. There were indications of ongoing fighting in Khartoum on Friday.
The talks are intended to address humanitarian concerns, the Sudanese army says. There hasn’t been an official RSF statement.
The army confirmed that it had dispatched representatives to Jeddah to participate in the negotiations, which the UN and aid organisations have been calling for in light of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the African nation.
The intense conflict that has lasted almost three weeks and claimed hundreds of lives has forced nearly 450,000 residents to leave. Over 115,000 of those people, according to the International Organisation for Migration, have sought asylum in bordering nations.
The de facto president of Sudan, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the leader of the RSF, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, are involved in a vicious power struggle.
The US and Saudi governments issued a joint statement in which they “urge both parties to take into account the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks towards a ceasefire and end to the conflict, which will spare the Sudanese people’s suffering and ensure the availability of humanitarian aid to affected areas.”
Additionally, “an expanded negotiation process that should include engagement with all Sudanese parties” was hoped for in the joint statement.
James Elder, a spokesman for UNICEF, reported that the conflict’s first 11 days alone saw an estimated 190 children murdered and 1,700 injured. Those numbers only came from medical institutions in Khartoum and Darfur.
The reality, he continued, “is likely much worse.” The severity of the battle has made it impossible to provide desperately needed aid.
Gen. Burhan and Hemedti, who commanded an Arab force during the terrible Darfur battle, have so far not demonstrated any interest in achieving a peaceful resolution.
Also Read: More Than 100,000 Refugees Left Sudan and Entered nearby Nations: UN
