Sudanese Political Factions Meet in Cairo with Little Prospect of Peace

People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 2, 2024. (AFP)
People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 2, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Sudanese Political Factions Meet in Cairo with Little Prospect of Peace

People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 2, 2024. (AFP)
People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 2, 2024. (AFP)

Rival Sudanese political factions formally attended reconciliation talks in Cairo on Saturday, the first since a conflict in the country began almost 15 months ago, but admitted there was little prospect of quickly ending the war.

During the conference the Democratic Bloc, which is aligned with the army, refused to hold joint sessions with Taqaddum faction, which it accuses of sympathizing with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Neither the army nor the RSF attended.

The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023, has forced almost 10 million people from their homes, sparked warnings of famine and waves of ethnically-driven violence.

The force this week swept through the state of Sennar, causing new displacement. In response, army head General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the military would not negotiate with the RSF or its supporters.

"The stark deterioration in the humanitarian situation and the catastrophic consequences of this crisis, call on all of us to work to immediately and sustainably to stop military operations," said newly-appointed Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Talks in Jeddah between the army and RSF that were sponsored by the United States and Saudi Arabia broke down at the end of last year.

Taqaddum is a coalition of pro-democracy parties, armed groups, and civil society that has called for an end to the war. The army-aligned Democratic Bloc includes several armed group leaders participating in the fighting.

While Egypt was able to wield its influence to assemble the group, the main attendees were seated at opposite sides of the hall at the conference's opening.

The two political factions agreed only to form a small subcommittee to come up with a final communique calling for an end to the war, which three Democratic Bloc leaders with forces fighting alongside the army did not sign.

"We told them [the Egyptians] not to have high ambitions for this meeting," Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim told Reuters. He along with Darfur governor Minni Minawi and Sovereign Council deputy Malik Agar did not sign the communique.

"Given the situation on the ground, if we sit and eat and drink and laugh with the people who are allied and partners in the crimes that are happening we would be sending the wrong message to our citizens and to our soldiers," he said.

He added that an end to the war was not realistic without the withdrawal of the RSF from civilian areas, in line with an agreement signed in Jeddah last year.

Former Prime Minister and Taqaddum head Abdalla Hamdok rejected accusations that the coalition was linked to the RSF, saying he awaited the army's agreement to meet.

"A crisis this complicated and deep is not expected to end in one meeting... The lesson is for us to be patient and to build on anything positive that comes out of it," he told Reuters, echoing sentiments from diplomats at the meeting.

US Special Envoy Tom Perriello said he hoped momentum from Saturday's talks would carry on to another meeting called by the African Union next week, another of several overlapping initiatives.



Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
TT

Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.