Will the Sudan Civil War Stop... 'First Face-to-Face Ceasefire Talks' Begin

In Sudan, Africa, the government forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been engaged in a civil war, have entered face-to-face ceasefire talks for the first time.

Black smoke from an airstrike is rising between buildings in the capital city of Khartoum. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The United States and Saudi Arabia, which mediated the talks, announced that after three weeks of intense fighting, each side sent special envoys and began ceasefire talks on the 6th (local time) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Both countries issued welcoming statements and urged both sides involved in the civil war to "actively participate in dialogue for a ceasefire and the end of the conflict to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people." They also mentioned that efforts by the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Arab League (AL), and the African Union (AU) contributed to the realization of these talks.

Officials from the Sudanese government forces and the RSF stated that the talks would address opening humanitarian corridors for civilian relief aid in Khartoum and nearby Omdurman. They also said they would discuss ways to protect and support local medical facilities struggling with shortages of personnel and medicine, as well as mechanisms for monitoring the ceasefire.

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the RSF, tweeted on the day, "We welcome efforts to establish a firm ceasefire and create humanitarian corridors," adding, "We hope the talks achieve their intended goals." However, it is known that he drew a line by stating that these talks are solely about a humanitarian ceasefire and not about peace negotiations.

Volker Perthes, the UN Special Envoy for Sudan, described it as "a positive sign that both sides are realizing there are no easy or quick victories," but also explained that "it should be understood that this is the first contact." He added that the talks would be "exploratory rather than concrete," and that achieving a lasting ceasefire from a single meeting would be difficult.

In fact, according to major foreign media such as AFP, fighting between both sides, including airstrikes and heavy weapon attacks, continued on the day in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, and surrounding areas. Although the government forces and RSF have agreed to ceasefires several times before, none have been properly observed even once.

Since the 15th of last month, armed clashes between government forces led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan and the RSF commanded by Dagalo have continued, causing significant casualties. At least 550 people have died and more than 4,900 have been injured. The United Nations reported that over 334,000 people have fled their homes in Sudan. General Burhan, who overthrew President Omar al-Bashir’s 30-year dictatorship in the 2019 coup, and Commander Dagalo have been in conflict over the schedule for integrating the government forces and RSF and the command authority after integration during the civilian transition negotiations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.