US, Saudi Arabia broker talks between Sudanese conflicting parties
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The US and Saudi Arabia are brokering on Saturday talks between the two Sudanese conflicting parties in the city of Jeddah to end fierce fighting that has killed hundreds and pushed the African country to the brink of collapse since April 15.
A delegation of the Sudanese army headed on Friday evening to Jeddah to start “pre-negotiation talks” as the US and Saudi Arabia described with its foes “the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).”
The US-Saudi initiative is the first serious attempt to end three weeks of fighting that have has turned parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum into war zones.
The US and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement that they urged both parties to “actively engage in the talks towards a cease-fire and end to the conflict, which will spare the Sudanese people’s suffering.”
Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the developments of a joint initiative to host both Sudanese warring parties in Jeddah, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two parties necessitated the need to intensify cooperation between their countries over diplomatic work that aims at ending fight in Sudan.
The US-Saudi joint statement stressed the importance to continuing the international support towards a broader negotiation process that comprises all Sudanese parties.
The Sudanese army and the RSF have been clashing across the country since April 15, leaving behind hundreds of casualties, most of whom are civilians.
Sudan today stands on the brink of a civil war that could cause large displacement, hunger, and ethnic cleansing following a two-week clashes that have claimed the lives of more than 400 people so far.