Arab News

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and the US urged the warring sides in Sudan’s conflict to engage in working toward a cease-fire, and welcomed the start of pre-negotiation talks in Jeddah.

They urged both parties to “actively engage in the talks toward a cease-fire and end to the conflict,” a joint statement said early on Saturday.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States urge both parties to take in consideration the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks towards a ceasefire and end to the conflict, which will spare the Sudanese people the suffering and assure the availability of humanitarian aid to affected areas.” 

Saudi Arabia and the United States also said they would like to stress the efforts of the countries and organizations that supported these talks, including the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the League of Arab States, and partners from the Trilateral Mechanism.

Sudan’s Forces of Freedom and Change, a political grouping leading an internationally backed plan to transfer to civilian rule, also welcomed the Jeddah talks on Saturday.

The Jeddah initiative is the first serious attempt to end the fighting that has crippled the Sudanese government and endangered the country’s political transition following years of unrest and uprisings.

The conflict erupted on April 15 between the army of Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the RSF of commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, a former militia leader known as Hemedti, following the collapse of an internationally-backed plan for a new transition with civilian parties.

Despite multiple cease-fire declarations, the fighting has showed no sign of abating.

However, Sudanese broadcasters said there was no exchange of gunfire in and around Khartoum in the early hours of Saturday.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday discussed a plan for the warring parties to reduce tensions, the kingdom said.

A group of countries led by Britain, the United States, Germany and Norway is set to request an urgent meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on the Sudan crisis next week, a document showed on Friday.

(with inputs from AP and Reuters)