Sudanese warring generals agree to send representatives to talks, possibly in Saudi Arabia
Post Date – 11:45 PM, Mon – 1 May 23
Members of security forces affiliated with the Sudanese army pass through their vehicles in Khartoum’s Jabra neighborhood (AFP photo)
Cairo: Sudan’s warring generals have agreed to send representatives to talks, possibly in Saudi Arabia, the top U.N. official in Sudan told The Associated Press on Monday, despite clashes in the capital between the two sides and a three-day extension of the fragile agreement.
Volker Poeters said the talks would initially focus on establishing a “stable and secure” ceasefire overseen by “domestic and international” observers. A string of temporary truces over the past week has only eased fighting in some areas, while in others intense fighting continues to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into a humanitarian crisis.
Perthes cautioned that the logistics of the negotiations were still being worked out. So far, only the military has announced its readiness to join the talks; its counterpart, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has made no public statements.
Any talks would be the first major sign of progress since fighting broke out on April 15 between the forces led by General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo.
Some 530 people, civilians and fighters alike, have since been killed and 4,500 others injured, Sudan’s health ministry said.
At the same time, the United States evacuated American civilians from Sudan for the first time. Under the surveillance of U.S. military drones, a group of Americans embarked on a dangerous journey from the capital Khartoum to the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.
A U.S. Navy fast transport ship transported 308 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah on Monday, according to Saudi officials.
Explosions and gunfire echoed across parts of Khartoum and its neighboring city of Omdurman on Monday, residents said. Both sides announced late on Sunday that they would abide by a 72-hour extension of a nominal ceasefire that had been in place for the past week.
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have led a coordinated international campaign to get the generals to stop fighting before engaging in deeper talks to resolve the crisis.
Speaking in Port Sudan, UN envoy Peter Poeters said they still face daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by the ceasefire agreement.
“It’s still important to connect both sides and have both sides commit to a ceasefire so that it becomes clear that fighting and taking action and moving forward and trying to make progress is actually a violation of the ceasefire,” he said.
One possibility is to create a mechanism to monitor the ceasefire that would include Sudanese and foreign observers, “but this would have to be negotiated,” he said.
Talks on cementing the ceasefire could take place in Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said, adding that the former might be logistically easier because of its close ties to both sides.
But he said even talks in Saudi Arabia faced challenges because both sides needed safe passage through each other’s territory to reach a deal. “With a lack of trust, it’s very difficult,” he said.
A struggle between generals for control has thrown Sudan into chaos.
Thousands of Sudanese have fled the fighting, especially in Khartoum and Omdurman. Many headed to the northern border with Egypt or Port Sudan. Foreign governments have also evacuated their citizens from Sudan.
Many fear the fighting will escalate further, dragging others down in a country where multiple armed groups exist and have fought several civil wars over the past decade.
“There is a risk that if this continues, in the shadow of this war between the two armies, other forces, tribal forces, political forces are mobilizing and taking sides in an opportunistic way,” Perry said. Tess said.
