US announces talks to end conflict in Sudan

(Washington) The United States announced Tuesday new peace talks to try to end the war ravaging Sudan, to be held in August in Switzerland.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that he had invited the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to these ceasefire talks, which will begin on August 14 in Switzerland.

General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo, who heads the FSR, welcomed Mr. Blinken’s invitation and announced his formation’s participation.

“I announce our participation in the upcoming ceasefire talks on August 14, 2024,” the general wrote on the X social network Tuesday evening.

The talks, co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia, will include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers, Blinken said.

They “aim to achieve a nationwide cessation of violence, to allow access to humanitarian aid to all those in need and to establish a robust monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure the implementation of any agreement,” added the head of American diplomacy.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been embroiled in a war between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the FSR of General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo.

The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and caused a major humanitarian crisis.

Previous rounds of talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have failed.

Asked about the chances of success now, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said he was unable “to assess the likelihood of an agreement, but we simply want to bring the parties back to the negotiating table.”

“We hope that the Sudanese army and the RSF will come to the negotiating table […] and that this will be an opportunity to finally achieve a ceasefire.”

These new negotiations, if they take place, will not, however, address “broader political issues,” Mr. Blinken was keen to clarify.

Initial discussions between the two warring parties in Sudan and an envoy from the United Nations (UN), Algerian diplomat Ramtane Lamamra, took place in recent days in Geneva, focusing on humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians.

Humanitarian disaster

In a report published on Monday, the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that 15 months of war in Sudan had had a “disastrous” impact on civilians.

“The price paid by civilians in this war is such that what appears to be a conflict between belligerents is in reality a war against the Sudanese people,” the report said.

While many organisations have ceased operations in the country, MSF continues to operate in eight states across Sudan.

The war has forced more than 11 million people to flee within the country and across borders, according to the UN, ravaged infrastructure and pushed Sudan to the brink of famine.

Some 25.6 million people, more than half of Sudan’s population, are currently facing “acute food insecurity,” a UN-backed report said in late June.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes for deliberately targeting civilians.

Since the start of the war, the army and the FSR have also been accused of looting and obstructing humanitarian aid, as well as nearly destroying an already fragile health system.