US Invites Sudan's Warring Parties for Talks

FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
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US Invites Sudan's Warring Parties for Talks

FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of a street in the city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war in Sudan, April 7, 2024. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

Washington has invited the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces for US-mediated ceasefire talks starting on Aug. 14 in Switzerland, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said early on Wednesday they will constructively participate in the talks to achieve "a comprehensive ceasefire across the country and facilitate humanitarian access to all those in need."
"We reaffirm our firm stance ... which is the insistence on saving lives, stopping the fighting, and paving the way for a peaceful, negotiated political solution that restores the country to civilian rule and the path of democratic transition," Dagalo said in a statement.

The talks will include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations as observers, Blinken said in a statement. Saudi Arabia will be a co-host for the discussions, he added.

"The scale of death, suffering, and destruction in Sudan is devastating. This senseless conflict must end," Blinken said, calling on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF to attend the talks and approach them constructively.

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.



Egypt Calls on Int’l Donors to Fulfill Pledges to Support Sudan, Refugee-Hosting Countries

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Calls on Int’l Donors to Fulfill Pledges to Support Sudan, Refugee-Hosting Countries

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty meets with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo, 23 July, 2024. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt on Tuesday called on international donors to swiftly fulfill their pledges to support Sudan, and its neighboring refugee-hosting countries after millions of Sudanese have been displaced due to the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

“Egypt is in ongoing talks with donor countries and humanitarian organizations to urge them to share the burden with Sudan’s caretaker government and neighboring countries,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said during a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart Hussein Awad in Cairo.

Since the conflict erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023, some 10 million have been displaced within the country or have fled into neighboring countries, making it the largest displacement crisis globally, according to UN statistics.

Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's unwavering support for the stability and safety of Sudan and its people, stressing Cairo's commitment to helping the Sudanese people overcome political, security, and humanitarian challenges caused by the ongoing war.

Early this month, Egypt hosted the Sudanese Political and Civil Forces Conference aimed at ending the war in the country.

According to the Egyptian FM, the Conference affirmed the need to maintain state institutions, deliver aid to Sudan and its neighbors, and ensure Sudanese control over the political process.

A Foreign Ministry statement said during their meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, Abdelatty and Awad reviewed the latest progress of the ongoing Egyptian development projects in Sudan, such as the electrical interconnection project and the reconstruction and development of Wadi Halfa Port.

Abdelatty pledged Egypt's continued commitment to completing these projects, the statement noted.

He called on international donors to quickly fulfill their pledges made at the conferences in Geneva and Paris to support Sudan, its neighboring refugee-hosting countries, and the UN humanitarian response plan.

Abdelatty said Egypt is in ongoing talks with donor countries and humanitarian organizations to urge them to share the burden with Sudan’s caretaker government and neighboring countries.

Egypt has received more than half a million of Sudanese fleeing the war, in addition to more than 5 million Sudanese who already reside in Egyptian cities, according to Egyptian government estimates.

For his part, the Sudanese minister thanked Egypt for the facilities and services provided to Sudanese citizens since the crisis began, including health and educational services, according to the Egyptian statement.

He also praised Egypt’s initiatives aimed at resolving the Sudanese crisis.

Abdelatty and Awad touched on several regional issues such as the situation in the Horn of Africa, the Gaza Strip crisis, the Red Sea security, the situation in Libya, and the Sahel–Saharan region.

They also discussed the dispute caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), reaffirming the unified stance of both countries on water security.