SUDAN WATCH: Sudan army to resume Jeddah truce talks with RSF

Saturday, July 15, 2023

Sudan army to resume Jeddah truce talks with RSF

From Ahram.org

By AFP (Agence France-Presse)

Published Saturday 15 July 2023 - here is a full copy:

Sudan army to resume Jeddah truce talks with RSF: Government source

Sudanese army representatives have returned to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia for talks with their paramilitary foes, a government source said Saturday as the war between rival generals entered its fourth month.

People queue for bread in front of a bakery in Omdurman on July 15, 2023. Since April 15, 2023, the forces the Sudanese army chief have been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. AFP

"A delegation of the armed forces has returned to Jeddah to resume negotiations with Rapid Support Forces rebels," the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to media.

The RSF has made no comment on returning to the Jeddah talks, which Saudi and US mediators adjourned last month after a series of repeatedly violated ceasefires.

Witnesses in the Sudanese capital Khartoum again reported clashes Saturday after a day of heavy fighting Friday left plumes of black smoke over several parts of the capital.

The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has claimed at least 3,000 lives and displaced more than three million people since it began on April 15.

The delegation in Saudi Arabia signals a return to diplomatic efforts by the army, after it boycotted talks in Addis Ababa last week.

Khartoum's foreign ministry had objected to Kenyan President William Ruto leading a quartet from East African regional bloc IGAD, accusing Nairobi of siding with the RSF.

Before the Jeddah talks were suspended, US mediators had grown increasingly frustrated with both sides' reluctance to work towards a sustained truce.

Experts believe that both Burhan and Daglo have opted for a war of attrition instead, hoping to extract more concessions at the negotiating table later.

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View original: https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/504802.aspx

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UPDATE Sun 16 Jul 2023 01:01 BST

Sudan government representatives arrive in Jeddah to resume talks with RSF

Report by MEE and agencies

Published Saturday 15 July 2023, 23:09 BST