The two parties to the conflict in Sudan have resumed their negotiations in the Saudi city of Jeddah, with the aim of ending the war that has been ongoing for more than six months, and which has claimed the lives of thousands and caused the displacement of millions of citizens.
Since April 15, the conflict between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has led to the death of more than 9,000 people, according to the United Nations figures, and the displacement of more than 5.6 million people inside the country or in neighboring states.
In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Riyadh welcomes the resumption of talks between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Jeddah, facilitated by Saudi Arabia and the United States. On Wednesday, both parties to the conflict confirmed their acceptance of an invitation to restart negotiations, but the army stressed that this move “does not mean stopping the battle for national dignity.”
The RSF expressed hope that the delegation representing the other side “has come to Jeddah united and independent from the dictates of the National Congress Party (the ruling party during the era of former President Omar al-Bashir).”
So far, all mediation attempts, including US-Saudi endeavor, have not succeeded in achieving any progress on the path to stopping the war, but only led to short ceasefire periods.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said that the Kingdom urges the negotiators to abide by the Jeddah Declaration, which was announced on May 11 to protect civilians, as well as a short-term ceasefire agreement signed on May 20.
“The Kingdom affirms its keenness on unity of ranks ... to stop the bloodshed and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people,” the statement added.
Representatives of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, which is led by Kenya, are also participating in the Jeddah negotiations.
Kholood Khair, founder of the Confluence Advisory Research Center in Khartoum, believes that the two sides of the conflict were not yet satisfied with the war. On Thursday, she wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the decision to revive the talks was based on the assumption that the army and the Rapid Support Forces had had enough of fighting due to the imminent collapse of the state, suffering and misery.
She added that the two sides were not yet satisfied, as neither of them cared about the human costs of waging this war.
As the talks resumed on Thursday, eyewitnesses reported fighting in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. The RSF announced that its fighters had “completely” taken control of the army positions in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and the second largest city in Sudan in terms of population, which may constitute a turning point in the war.
The army was able to protect its main bases in Khartoum, despite the deployment of the RSF in most parts of the capital. At the same time, the government moved most of its headquarters to Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast.
