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The United States and Saudi Arabia announced that direct talks between the warring Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) would start in Jeddah on May 7.
In a joint statement released on April 6, the governments of the two countries welcomed the “start of pre-negotiation talks” and urged sustained global support to quell fighting.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States urge both parties to take in consideration the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks toward a ceasefire and end to the conflict,” the statement said.
The statement noted the efforts of other countries and organizations to push the talks forward, including Britain, the United Arab Emirates, the League of Arab States, the African Union and other groups.
Both the Sudanese army and the RSF sent envoys to Saudi Arabia on May 5 to take part in the talks, which aims to secure a fir ceasefire.
Fighting in the country continued despite upcoming talks and a threat of sanctions from the U.S. President Joe Biden against those responsible for “threatening the peace, security, and stability of Sudan” and “undermining Sudan’s democratic transition.”
“The violence taking place in Sudan is a tragedy — and it is a betrayal of the Sudanese people’s clear demand for civilian government and a transition to democracy. It must end,” Biden said.
The army’s Commander-in-Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have been ruling Sudan as the president and vice-president of the so-called Sovereign Council since a coup in October 2021.
The clashes broke out in Sudan as a result of a disagreement over how the RSF should be integrated into the army and what authority should oversee the process during transition to civilian-led rule in the country.
So far, about 700 people have been killed, mostly in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
Several ceasefire agreements have been reached since the clashes first broke out on April 15, but none has been respected. The success of the upcoming talks between the army and the RSF in Jeddah could spare Sudan a long, bloody civil war.
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