Sudan government demands 'discussions' before peace negotiations
PORT Sudan, Sudan — Sudan's foreign affairs ministry which is loyal to the regular army fighting paramilitaries said on Tuesday that it "wants more discussions" before accepting a US invitation for ceasefire talks.
"Any negotiation before... the complete withdrawal" of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) headed by general Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, and a "halt" to their expansion, are "unacceptable", the ministry said in a statement.
American secretary of state Antony Blinken last week invited the Sudanese army and the RSF for negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, set to begin on August 14.
The same day, Daglo welcomed the invitation and announced the RSF's intent to participate. The army, headed by General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, did not react.
A war has raged in Sudan since April 2023 between the army and the RSF that has left tens of thousands dead and sparked a major humanitarian crisis.
On Sunday, the foreign affairs ministry asked for "consultations with the Sudanese government on the form and agenda" and for a "meeting with the United States" before any future negotiations.
The talks, co-sponsored by Saudi Arabia, must include the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the UN as observers, Blinken said.
They are aimed at "achieving a country-wide cessation of violence and allowing access for humanitarian aid", said the top US diplomat.
Previous rounds of talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, ended in failure.
The war has forced the displacement of more than 11 million people both inside and outside Sudan's borders, according to the United Nations, obliterating infrastructure and pushing the country to the edge of famine.
Some 25.6 million people -- more than half the population -- are facing high levels of "acute food insecurity", the world body said in a report published in late June.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes for deliberately targeting civilians.
Since the beginning of the war, the army and RSF have also been accused of looting and obstructing humanitarian aid, as well as almost entirely destroying an already-fragile health system.
