RIYADH (AFP/Al Jazeera) – Sudan’s warring parties have met for direct talks in Saudi Arabia as mediators pressed for an end to a conflict that has killed hundreds and sent tens of thousands fleeing.
The “pre-negotiation talks” started on Saturday in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Numerous truces have been violated since the conflict broke out in mid-April. The initiative in Jeddah is the first serious attempt to end fighting that has endangered Sudan’s fragile transition following years of unrest and uprisings.
Sudan’s Forces of Freedom and Change, a political grouping leading an internationally-backed plan to transfer the country to civilian rule, also welcomed the Jeddah talks.
The pro-democracy movement said the discussions would be “a first step” to stop the country’s collapse and called on leaders of the military and the RSF to make a “bold decision” to end the conflict.
Confirming his group’s attendance, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, said he hoped the talks would achieve their intended aim of securing safe passage for civilians.
“We remain hopeful that the discussions will achieve their intended goals,” he said.
At least 550 people were killed, including civilians, and more than 4,900 wounded as of Monday, according to the Sudanese health ministry.
The conflict erupted on April 15 between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hemedti’s RSF following the collapse of an internationally-backed plan for a transition with civilian parties.
Al-Burhan, a career army officer, heads a ruling council installed after a 2021 military coup and the 2019 removal of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, while Hemedti was his deputy.
The northeast African country suffered decades of sanctions during the rule of Bashir, ousted in a palace coup in 2019 following mass street protests.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said it is preparing for an outflow of 860,000 people as a result of the conflict, adding that $445 million would be needed to support them just through October.
The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, warned Friday that “the situation in Sudan has become fatal for a frighteningly large number of children”.
Spokesman James Elder said UNICEF had received reports from a trusted partner -- not yet independently verified by the United Nations -- that 190 children were killed and 1,700 wounded during the conflict’s first 11 days.