RSF Advisor Says: Progress of Jeddah Negotiations Paves Way to Ceasefire

A fighter waves a rifle as he stands next to a damaged vehicle in the Nile neighborhood in Greater Khartoum (AFP)
A fighter waves a rifle as he stands next to a damaged vehicle in the Nile neighborhood in Greater Khartoum (AFP)
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RSF Advisor Says: Progress of Jeddah Negotiations Paves Way to Ceasefire

A fighter waves a rifle as he stands next to a damaged vehicle in the Nile neighborhood in Greater Khartoum (AFP)
A fighter waves a rifle as he stands next to a damaged vehicle in the Nile neighborhood in Greater Khartoum (AFP)

Negotiations between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the National Army in Jeddah are progressing, paving the way to a ceasefire agreement between the two parties, announced RSF Advisor Haroun Medikher.

Speaking to the Arab World Press, Medikher asserted the RSF's desire to achieve a ceasefire.

Last Thursday, the Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces resumed their negotiations in Jeddah, which began in May under Saudi-US auspices and reached several short-term ceasefires.

The Intergovernmental Authority for Development in the Horn of Africa (IGAD) announced that its Executive Secretary is participating in the Jeddah negotiations, along with the delegations of Saudi Arabia, the US, and the African Union (AU).

Medikher said that the negotiations are going well, and the parties are working on a ceasefire.

He explained that the talks would be followed by discussing the humanitarian file and rebuilding trust between the components of the Sudanese people and the warring parties.

The Sudanese people are looking forward to these negotiations because they consider them the ideal solution to the Sudanese issue, said the advisor.

He believes that all political and military leaders support these negotiations. However, he fears the other side, about the Sudanese army, was reluctant to achieve a ceasefire.

He warned that supporters of the former regime rejected the negotiations and a settlement in Sudan, adding that they were the ones who ignited the war.

"We hope that the decision [to stop the war] will be in the hands of the armed forces."

Medikher pins hope on the current negotiations, saying any conflict in the world eventually ends with talks and a settlement.

He is optimistic that progress could be achieved if there is enough will, noting that the Rapid Support Forces has the intention.

On April 15, clashes erupted between the Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces after weeks of tension between the two sides.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.