Sudan's warring parties hold talks in Bahrain

MANAMA, Bahrain

Senior leaders from Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) met three times this month in Bahrain, sources with knowledge of the talks said, the first such contact between the two warring sides in nine months of conflict.

Unlike previous talks on war in Sudan, the meetings in Manama were attended by influential deputies from both forces and by officials from the Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, key supporters of the army and RSF respectively, according to the four sources, two of whom were present at the talks.

The unannounced talks, which the sources said were also attended by the United States and Saudi Arabia, come after repeated attempts by both powers as well as East African nations to broker a ceasefire and a political deal to end the war made
little headway.

The war in Sudan erupted last April over disputes about the powers of the army and the RSF under an internationally-backed plan for a political transition towards civilian rule and elections.

The army and the RSF had shared power with civilians after the fall of former leader Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in 2019, before staging a coup two years later.

The fighting has wrecked parts of Sudan including the capital Khartoum, killed more than 13,000 people according to U.N. estimates, drawn warnings of famine, and created an internal displacement crisis.

Talks held last year in the Saudi city of Jeddah featured lower-level officials and neither side maintained its commitments.

By contrast, in Manama the army was represented by hardliner General Shamseldin Kabbashi and the RSF by General Abdelrahim Dagalo, a brother of RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the sources said.

According to one participant, the two sides had tentatively agreed on a declaration of principles including maintaining the unity of Sudan and its military.

More talks to discuss a ceasefire were planned, but a follow-up meeting last week was postponed, the source added.