Sudan’s warring sides send envoys for talks in Saudi Arabia

The fighting has turned Sudan’s capital of Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields and pushed hundreds of thousands from their homes. There is increasing concern for those trapped and displaced by the fighting, and aid workers and civilians have said there is a dire lack of basic services, medical care, food and water.

Foreign governments have rushed to evacuate their diplomats and thousands of foreign nationals out of Sudan. Saudi warships have been ferrying those fleeing from Port Sudan, on Sudan’s Red Sea coast, which has now become the entry hub for aid sent to the embattled nation.

A series of fragile and often violated cease-fires over the past three weeks has failed to stop the fighting. Fierce battles raged Friday in areas around the military’s headquarters and the international airport in Khartoum, according to residents. https://apnews.com/article/sudan-military-rsf-conflict-civilians-port-sudan-war-bd675f2ce360e7d40f4926c81057cdbf

According to the three officials, the talks in Jeddah would address the opening of humanitarian corridors in Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman, which have been the centers of the battles.

One of the military officials said the talks are part of an initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia and the United State. He said they would also discuss providing protection to civilian infrastructure, including health facilities.

The RSF official said Saudi and American officials would facilitate the talks. He said they would also discuss a mechanism to monitor the cease-fire and confirmed on Friday that the RSF delegation had left for Jeddah. Sudan’s military also later its delegation had departed to Saudi Arabia, saying the talks would discuss “details of the truce,” without elaborating.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, discussed the initiative in a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It said the initiative aims to “prepare the ground” for dialogue to deescalate tensions in the African country. The statement also did not provide further details.

The battle for control of Sudan, which capped months of tensions between Burhan and Dagalo, has so far killed at least 550 people, including civilians, and — as of Monday — wounded more than 4,900, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

The Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, which tracks only civilian casualties, said Friday that 473 civilians have been killed in the violence, and more than 2,450 have been wounded.

Their power struggle has put millions of Sudanese in the line of gun battles, artillery bombardments and airstrikes. So far, at least 334,000 people have been displaced inside Sudan, and tens of thousands more have crossed to neighboring countries — Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Ethiopia, according to U.N. agencies.

Samy Magdy, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Sudan’s warring sides send envoys for talks in Saudi Arabia

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