Sudan Paramilitary RSF to Attend Jeddah Talks with Armed Forces

Envoys from Sudan’s paramilitary forces will take part in talks with the army to be held in Jeddah on Saturday, their leader said, as international mediators gather to press for an end to the conflict that has ravaged the country.

The US-Saudi initiative in Jeddah is the first serious effort to end three weeks of fighting that has turned parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum into war zones and derail an internationally backed plan to usher in civilian rule after years of unrest and insurgency. taken off from

Riyadh and Washington have earlier welcomed “pre-negotiation talks” between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) and urged them to become actively involved after several ceasefire violations.

But both sides have made it clear that they will only discuss a humanitarian ceasefire, not talks to end the war.

Confirming his group’s presence, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, said he hoped the talks would achieve their intended objective of securing safe passage for civilians.

Sudan’s armed forces said they sent a delegation to the Red Sea city on Friday evening, but special envoy Dafallah Alhaj said the army would not sit directly with any delegation the “rebel” RSF might send.

Hemedti meanwhile vowed to capture or kill army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan Burhan, and also on grounds that there was evidence that both sides were unwilling to compromise to end the bloodshed.

The sound of warplanes was heard throughout the night in the city of Bahri, across the Nile from Khartoum, and explosions startled residents. A local, who gave his name as Ahmed, said, “We do not step out of the house because we are afraid of stray bullets.”

An eyewitness in eastern Khartoum reported gunfire and airstrikes in residential areas on Saturday.

The conflict broke out on 15 April following the collapse of an internationally supported plan to transition to democracy.

Burhan, a career army officer, heads a ruling council established after the 2021 military coup and ouster of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in 2019, while Hemedti, a former militia leader who made his name in the Darfur conflict Major militia was formed. his deputy.

Before the fight, Hemedti was taking steps like moving closer to a civil party, which shows that he has bigger political plans. Burhan blames the war on his “ambitions”.

human catastrophe

Western powers have backed a transition to a civilian government in the country, which sits at a strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile Sahel region.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was traveling to Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi leaders.

Saudi Arabia has had close ties with Burhan and Hemedti, both of which sent troops to help the Saudi-led coalition in its war against the Houthi group in Yemen. The kingdom is also focused on security in the Red Sea, which it shares with Sudan.

The United Nations has significantly scaled down its operations in Sudan after three of its staff were killed and its warehouses looted, and has sought guarantees of safe passage for humanitarian aid.

The fighting has also affected critical infrastructure and closed most hospitals in the conflict zones. UN agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if the conflict continues.

The World Health Organization said on Saturday it had provided medical aid to Port Sudan but was awaiting security and access approvals, which have prevented many such shipments from reaching Khartoum, where some hospitals are running short of supplies. Is.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)