Sudan’s government has announced plans to send a delegation to Cairo for discussions with U.S. and Egyptian officials on Monday, leaving the question of its participation in crucial peace talks unresolved. The talks aim to end the 16-month war that has ravaged the country since April 2023. “Our presence in Cairo is to discuss the implementation of the Jeddah agreement,” a statement from the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council clarified, emphasising that the government’s involvement hinges on previous commitments being honoured.
The government, controlled by the army, has been locked in a bitter conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of Sudan. The U.S.-led peace talks, which the RSF is attending, seek to address not only the war but also the crippling humanitarian crisis that has left half of Sudan’s 50 million people facing severe food insecurity. However, the Sudanese army has been firm in its stance, declaring it would not join the peace talks in Switzerland unless the RSF adheres to the terms agreed upon in Jeddah, particularly the withdrawal from civilian areas.
High-ranking government sources revealed to Reuters that Sudan has communicated its stance on the Jeddah agreement and other key issues to U.S. and Saudi mediators. “Our approach to further talks will depend on the response we receive from the mediators,” one source noted, denying media reports that a delegation had already been sent to Geneva.
A significant point of contention for the Sudanese army is the involvement of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the peace process. The army accuses the UAE of supporting the RSF, a charge that the UAE has denied. However, U.N. experts have found these accusations to be credible. Despite this, the army recently pre-empted a major topic of the talks by agreeing to allow an RSF-controlled border crossing into Darfur to be used for aid deliveries. This decision followed a phone call between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during which Burhan consented to the opening of the border crossing.
Source: Reuters
