Sudan’s warring parties have resumed negotiations in Saudi Arabia in an attempt to end the six-month war that has claimed more than 9,000 lives, the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday 27 October.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the resumption of negotiations between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city of Jeddah”, the statement said. Since April, the war between the forces of army chief Abdelfattah al-Burhane and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, at the head of the RSF, has left more than 9,000 dead – according to an underestimated toll – and more than 5.6 million displaced and refugees.
Both sides announced on Wednesday October 25 that they had accepted an invitation to resume negotiations in Jeddah (west), under the aegis of the United States and Saudi Arabia. Previous attempts at mediation resulted in truces that quickly fell apart. Representatives of the Igad countries, the East African bloc made up of Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia and South Sudan, are taking part in the Jeddah talks on behalf of the African Union, the Saudi statement said.
The Saudi ministry called on negotiators to respect an earlier agreement announced on May 11 to protect civilians and a ceasefire agreement signed on May 20. It urged the warring parties to “put an end to the bloodshed and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people”. Riyadh also expressed its hope for a political agreement ensuring the “security, stability and prosperity of Sudan and its brotherly people”.
Before the suspension in June of the latest round of negotiations in Jeddah, mediators had grown increasingly frustrated with the reluctance of both sides to work towards a lasting truce. According to experts, General Burhane and his rival Daglo appear to have opted for a war of attrition, in the hope of obtaining greater concessions at the negotiating table at a later date.