Sudan ceasefire talks set to start despite army no-show

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (C) gestures as he attends a graduation ceremony in Gibet near Port Sudan on July 31, 2024. Burhan, whose forces are battling paramilitaries, was evacuated after a drone attacked a military base he was visiting in the country's east on July 31, witnesses told AFP. The army said five people were killed in a drone attack on a ceremony at the Gibet base, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Port Sudan, where the army-aligned government has fled since fighting gripped the capital Khartoum.

(Photo by AFP)

(AFP) - US-mediated Sudan ceasefire talks were to kick off in Switzerland on Wednesday, even though the Sudanese government is set to stay away.

Tom Perriello, the US Special Envoy for Sudan convening the discussions, insisted they go ahead regardless, saying the suffering people of Sudan, ravaged by the devastating conflict, cannot wait any longer.

War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese army under the country's de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

But while the RSF delegation is in Switzerland for the talks -- taking place behind closed doors in an undisclosed location -- the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) are yet to accept the invite.

The talks, which could last up to 10 days, are being co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations present as observers.

The brutal conflict has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The fighting has forced one in five people to flee their homes, while tens of thousands have died. More than 25 million across the country -- more than half its population -- face acute hunger.

"The time for peace is now," Perriello said Tuesday.

"Thus far, SAF has not agreed to participate. Yet we will proceed with our international and technical partners to explore every option to support the people of Sudan," he said, urging the government to "seize the opportunity".

- 'Sense of urgency' -

Previous rounds of talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah have come to nothing.

If the SAF chairs remain empty this time, there will be no formal mediation between the warring sides, but other attendees will press on with the talks' agenda.

Perriello said there was a "deep sense of urgency to make progress this week towards a cessation of hostilities and expanded humanitarian access", plus ways to uphold agreements.

"The Sudanese people cannot afford for us to wait."

A member of the RSF delegation confirmed they were in Switzerland ahead of the talks.

"Our delegation has arrived in Geneva to start negotiations; we don't know anything about the army delegation," the member told AFP on Tuesday.

The Sudanese government says more discussions are needed before joining ceasefire negotiations.

Sudan's Media Minister Graham Abdelkader said it was rejecting "any new observers or participants" -- notably after Washington "insisted on the participation of the United Arab Emirates as an observer".

The Sudanese army has repeatedly accused the UAE of backing the RSF.

- Pressure on Burhan -

Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group, said Burhan was facing "serious internal divisions" on whether to attend, with some in his camp in favour of talks and others "fiercely opposed".

"Restarting the talks at all would be a breakthrough, given that there have not been formal talks since last year," he told AFP.

"The main difference from previous rounds is that the US is firmly in charge of the agenda and that all three of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt are all present as well. That puts all the main outside actors with leverage over the warring parties in one room together."

He said if the government does not attend, Burhan would come under mounting external pressure if he is seen as "the main obstacle to ending the war".

- 'Enough is enough' -

Sudan is suffering the world's biggest displacement crisis. More than 10.7 million people are internally displaced within the country, while around 2.3 million more have fled abroad.

"What was once a land of rich culture, history, and hope has become a battlefield of despair, where millions of families are trapped in a living nightmare," said Mohamed Refaat, the UN migration agency's Sudan mission chief.

"Without a ceasefire... every day we delay, more lives are lost, more dreams are shattered, and more futures are stolen," Refaat said, adding: "Enough is enough."

James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, said he had spoken to a surgeon operating on boys injured Saturday in the fatal shelling of a football field in Khartoum State.

"He said to me: If those people behind this war could just see these injuries, could see these children who have been killed, they would find a way to sit and talk."

© Agence France-Presse