Rival Sudan factions meet in Saudi Arabia as pressure mounts

Sudan’s warring factions have met for direct talks in Saudi Arabia, where mediators pushed for an end to a conflict that has killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands.

Saudi Arabia and the United States welcomed the start of “pre-negotiation talks” on Saturday in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and urged warring parties to actively engage and come to an agreement. sustainable ceasefire, said a joint statement.

Since the outbreak of the conflict in mid-April, numerous ceasefires have been violated. The US-Saudi initiative in Jeddah is the first serious effort to end the fighting that has endangered Sudan’s fragile transition after years of unrest and insurgency.

The Sudanese Forces of Freedom and Change, a political group leading an internationally backed plan to turn the country over to a civilian government, also welcomed talks in Jeddah.

The pro-democracy movement said the talks would be “a first step” to halt the country’s collapse and called on army and RSF leaders to make a “bold decision” to end the conflict .

RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, confirmed his group’s presence and said he hoped the talks would achieve their intended goal of securing safe passage for civilians.

“We remain hopeful that the talks will achieve their intended goals,” he said.

At least 550 people, including civilians, have been killed and more than 4,900 injured since Monday, Sudan’s health ministry said.

Conflict erupted on April 15 between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s army and Hemedti’s RSF after the collapse of an internationally backed transition plan involving civilian parties.

Al-Burhan, a career military officer, heads a government council installed following a 2021 military coup and the 2019 ousting of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, while Hemedti was his deputy.

Humanitarian catastrophe

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from the capital Khartoum, said the talks focused on opening humanitarian corridors for people to escape the fighting.

“These are not talks to … try to find a political or military solution to the disagreements between the RSF and the Sudanese military,” she said.

“The army has said it is targeting those who need help, and there are plenty here in the capital and across the country. Humanitarian organizations have repeatedly stated that the security problem prevents them from reaching people in need, whether in Khartoum or neighboring states.”

The talks will also be about protecting civilian infrastructure, including health facilities that are overwhelmed and facing dire shortages of both personnel and medical supplies, a military official said.

An RSF official said they would also discuss a mechanism to oversee the current ceasefire, one of a series of ceasefires that failed to stop fighting.

The United Nations has significantly scaled back its operations in Sudan after three of its employees were killed and warehouses looted during the fighting. It has sought guarantees for the safe passage of humanitarian aid.

Despite an ongoing ceasefire, Morgan said residents of Khartoum could see fighter jets flying all night on Saturday, with alleged airstrikes targeting RSF positions in the northern city of Bahri.

“Near the presidential palace where there has always been fighting … we could hear heavy artillery and air strikes,” she said.

‘We were confronted with gangs’

UN agencies have warned of a major humanitarian catastrophe if the fighting continues.

On Saturday, the World Health Organization said 30 tons of medical supplies had arrived in Port Sudan by air, one of the first such shipments since fighting began.

A group of countries led by the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and Norway will request a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on Sudan next week.

The UN Refugee Agency estimated that the number of Sudanese fleeing to neighboring countries could reach 860,000, and aid agencies would need $445 million to help them.

Qatar flew a relief flight to Sudan with some 40 tons of food and left early Saturday with 150 evacuees as fighting continued.

The Qatari Emiri Air Force C-17 Globemaster landed in Port Sudan, 670 km (415 mi) northeast of Khartoum, Sudan’s violence-torn capital. The port city was spared during the fighting and has become one of the few safe points of passage out of the country, both by plane and by ship crossing the Red Sea to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Evacuees boarded the C-17 in the livery of Qatar Airways, the country’s long-haul airline. People described facing “very scary, terrifying” conditions when they tried to leave Khartoum for the airport.

“We still faced many difficulties because of the lack of security in the country as the security forces engaged in the fighting. We encountered gangs along the way,” said Nemat Allah Saber Ibrahim, an evacuated Sudanese doctor living in Qatar. “But thank God we arrived safely in the port of Sudan.”