The United States hopes for a relaunch of talks aimed at ending the conflict in Sudan and opening up humanitarian access soon after Ramadan ends in mid-April, Washington's newly appointed envoy said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia and the United States led talks in Jeddah last year to try to reach a truce between Sudan's army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but the negotiations faltered amid competing international peace initiatives.
"We need to restart formal talks. We hope that will happen as soon as Ramadan is over," Tom Perriello, who took up his role as US special envoy to Sudan late last month, told reporters.
"Everybody understands that this crisis is barreling towards a point of no return, and that means everybody needs to put whatever differences aside and be united in finding a solution to this conflict."
The army and the RSF began battling each other in mid-April last year as tensions over plans for a new political transition and restructuring of the military erupted into heavy fighting.
The army, which has recently regained some ground in the capital, shunned an appeal from the UN Security Council for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"Every week we wait without a peace deal makes the potential for famine more protracted, and the atrocities that we know that have been documented continue," Perriello said.
