US Announces Sudan Ceasefire Talks

AFP/APP

Washington: The United States announced on Tuesday that it had invited Sudan’s warring sides to hold ceasefire talks in Switzerland next month. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington had invited Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to begin US-mediated negotiations starting on August 14.

“The United States remains committed to working with partners to end this devastating war,” Blinken said in a statement. The commander of the RSF, engaged in conflict with the army for over a year, expressed his approval of Blinken’s invitation and confirmed his side’s participation in the negotiations.

Mohamed Hamdan Daglo declared, “I declare our participation in the upcoming ceasefire talks on August 14, 2024, in Switzerland,” on social media site X.

Previous negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have failed to halt the fighting that has displaced millions, triggered famine warnings, and left much of the capital Khartoum in ruins.

 Subsequent mediation attempts, including by the African Union, have not succeeded in bringing the warring parties together, as both forces continued vying for tactical advantages on the ground.

The conflict has persisted for over a year between the regular military under army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by his former deputy Daglo.

This brutal war has caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 10 million people, including two million who have fled across borders, according to the United Nations.

“The talks in Switzerland aim to achieve a nationwide cessation of violence, facilitate humanitarian access to all those in need, and develop a robust monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure the implementation of any agreement,” Blinken stated.

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

‘No Military Solution’

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized that “there is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan.” He noted that “convening these national ceasefire talks and making clear that they are backed by key international stakeholders is the only way to end the conflict.”

When asked about the likelihood of the talks succeeding, Miller acknowledged that “we just want to get the parties back to the table,” calling it “the best shot that we have right now at achieving a nationwide cessation of violence.”

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including deliberately targeting civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas, and blocking humanitarian aid, leading many humanitarian organizations to cease operations in the country.

A recent UN-backed report indicated that nearly 26 million people, or slightly more than half of the population, are facing high levels of “acute food insecurity.”

Indirect talks between the RSF and Sudanese military, held this month in Geneva by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s personal envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, were described as an “encouraging” first step by the UN.

These talks focused on humanitarian aid and protecting civilians, though neither side met directly with the other.