Sudanese Delegation Meets U.S. Mediators Ahead of Peace Talks in Geneva

African Union
The Sudan Women’s Peace Dialogue, a landmark conference held in Kampala on July 3-4, 2024, gathered more than 60 Sudanese women from various backgrounds. Participants included representatives from peace-building networks, political groups, faith-based organizations, and civil society. Convened by the African Union Commission's Chairperson H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat through the Office of the Special Envoy on Women, Peace, and Security and under the leadership of the AU High-Level Panel on Sudan (HLP-Sudan), this event aimed to elevate the voices of Sudanese women in the ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in Sudan.
10 August 2024
Radio France Internationale

A Sudanese delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with US mediators on conditions for the government's participation in ceasefire negotiations in Geneva next week.

According to Sudanese authorities: "The Sudanese government has decided to send a delegation led by the minister of minerals, Mohammed Bashir Abu Namo, to discuss with the United States its invitation for negotiations set to take place on August 14," said a government statement.

This comes as the United States invited Sudan's warring sides to hold ceasefire talks last month, more than a year after fighting broke out between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The delegation arrived in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah on Friday to "discuss the government conditions with American officials to take part in Geneva talks", a Sudanese diplomat based in the kingdom told the AFP news agency.

The RSF - vying for control of Sudan - swiftly accepted the US invitation.

To display this content from X (Twitter), you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.

Accept Manage my choices 'More discussions'

However, Sudan's foreign ministry, which is loyal to the army, said negotiations must be preceded by "more discussions".

Any peace initiative "must recognise, invite and consult the Sudanese state", the country's de facto ruler and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said in late July, referring to his government.

"We will not lay down our guns until we clean this country of every conspirator and every rebel," he vowed.

Humanitarian crisis

The Geneva talks will be co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers.

Alessandra Velluci, a Geneva-based spokeswoman for the United Nations, said it was "not a UN initiative, but of course, we welcome all initiatives that can be helpful in solving the crisis in Sudan".

Since April 2023, the war between Burhan's forces and those loyal to paramilitary commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted millions, and triggered a dire humanitarian crisis and warnings of famine.

Previous negotiations in Jeddah have failed to put an end to the fighting.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes - including deliberately targeting civilians - while the fighting has dealt severe blows to Sudan's already frail healthcare system and caused many humanitarian organisations to cease operations in the country.

Both the army and the RSF have also been accused of looting humanitarian aid.

Read or Listen to this story on the RFI website.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2024 Radio France Internationale. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.