Sudan army boycotts US-led peace talks
New peace talks aimed at resolving Sudan’s 16-month war have commenced, despite the national army’s decision not to participate. The United States, which is facilitating the discussions, emphasized the need to proceed given the urgent suffering of millions in Sudan who “cannot afford for us to wait.”
The conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced around 10 million people from their homes.
Hopes for a ceasefire agreement were dashed when the army boycotted Wednesday’s talks, citing the RSF’s failure to implement key terms from last year’s agreement in Saudi Arabia.
According to the army, the RSF had not fulfilled critical conditions of the Jeddah Declaration, such as withdrawing its fighters from civilian homes and public facilities.
In a statement on social media platform X, the RSF said it had arrived in the Swiss city of Geneva for the talks and called on the army to “commit to fulfilling the democratic aspirations of the Sudanese people”.
The army also rejected the talks as it objects to the presence as an observer of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which it accuses of backing the RSF.
Alongside UAE, delegates representing the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the African Union, and the United Nations are in attendance.
According to the UN’s migration agency, tens of thousands of preventable deaths are looming in Sudan if the conflict and restrictions on humanitarian aid continue.
The United States said the crisis had reached an unprecedented level of severity with millions facing hunger and displacement.
