World
US, Saudi efforts to halt fighting in Sudan not succeeding: State Department
Senior State Department officials on Tuesday criticized Sudan’s army and the paramilitary group, which are fighting each other, for not taking advantage of US- and Saudi-backed talks in Jeddah.
“They are clearly not taking advantage of the format we have given them,” one official, speaking on background, told reporters. “It is not succeeding in the way they had originally agreed in terms of this step-by-step process to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities,” the official said.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been engaged in clashes for several weeks as the two sides fight for government control.
Addressing the Jeddah talks, the senior State Department officials said that US and Saudi efforts to get the SAF and the RSF to halt the fighting, even for a short period, had proved futile until now. After consultation with Arab, African and other partners, they hope to announce a new pathway forward in the next few days.
Shortly after fighting broke out, the US and Saudi Arabia offered to host the warring sides in Jeddah for talks on a cessation of hostilities in a bid to allow the free flow of badly needed humanitarian aid for civilians.
But several fragile ceasefires have been any more than that, with the two sides continuing to violate terms of agreements. This led to the suspension of the Jeddah talks despite Riyadh and Washington expressing their willingness and readiness to resume the negotiations when the SAF and the RSF meet certain conditions.
Read more: Sudan’s RSF received surface-to-air missiles from Russia’s Wagner: US