May 6, 2023 at 05:20 CET
Updated 55 minutes ago
picture description,
Smoke rising from airstrikes in Khartoum (from 1 Ma)
Saudi Arabia is set to host the first face-to-face talks between Sudan’s warring armies on Saturday after multiple ceasefires collapsed.
A joint US-Saudi statement hailed the start of “pre-negotiation talks” in Jeddah between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). On Friday, reports spoke of ongoing clashes in Khartoum.
The Sudanese army says the talks are aimed at addressing humanitarian issues.
There was no official RSF comment.
The army confirmed it had sent envoys to Jeddah to take part in talks urged by the UN and aid organizations amid a serious humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
Nearly three weeks of heavy fighting has killed hundreds and displaced nearly 450,000 civilians. According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 115,000 of them have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
The commander of the Sudanese army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – the de facto President of Sudan – is in a bitter power struggle with the leader of the RSF, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti.
The statement by the US and Saudi Arabian governments said they “call on both parties to consider the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and to actively engage in the talks for a ceasefire and an end to the conflict that spare the suffering of the Sudanese people and ensure the availability of humanitarian assistance in the affected areas”.
The joint statement also expressed hope for “an expanded negotiation process that should include cooperation with all Sudanese parties.”
A Unicef spokesman, James Elder, said an estimated 190 children were killed and 1,700 injured in the first 11 days of the conflict alone – and those figures come only from health facilities in Khartoum and Darfur.
“The reality is probably much worse,” he said.
The intensity of the fighting has prevented urgently needed aid from getting through.
So far, General Burhan and Hemedti, who led an Arab militia in the brutal Darfur conflict, have shown little willingness to reach a peaceful solution.