WASHINGTON, US
The United States hopes for a relaunch of talks aimed at ending the conflict in Sudan and opening up humanitarian access soon after Ramadan ends in mid-April, Washington's newly appointed envoy said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia and the
US led talks in Jeddah last year to try to reach a truce between Sudan's
army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but the negotiations
faltered amid competing international peace initiatives.
"We need to restart
formal talks. We hope that will happen as soon as Ramadan is over," Tom
Perriello, who took up his role as US special envoy to Sudan late last
month, told reporters.
"Everybody understands
that this crisis is barrelling towards a point of no return, and that means
everybody needs to put whatever differences aside and be united in finding a
solution to this conflict."
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The army and the
RSF began battling each other in mid-April last year as tensions over
plans for a new political transition and restructuring of the military erupted
into heavy fighting.
The two sides had staged
a coup in 2021 that derailed a transition towards elections following
the overthrow of autocratic ruler Omar al-Bashir in a popular
uprising two years earlier.
The conflict has driven nearly
8.5 million people from their homes creating the world's biggest displacement
crisis, pushed parts of the 49-million population close to famine, and
triggered waves of ethnically driven killings and sexual
violence in the western region of Darfur.
The army, which
has recently regained some ground in the
capital, shunned an appeal from the UN Security Council for a
ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"Every week we wait
without a peace deal makes the potential for famine more protracted, and the
atrocities that we know that have been documented continue," Perriello
said.
Talks could build off efforts
in Jeddah, Manama and Cairo and should involve African leaders, regional bodies
and Gulf states, the envoy said.
"This next round of
formal talks should be inclusive. But it also has to be people who are truly
serious about ending the war," he said.
Support by regional powers for
rival factions in Sudan has contributed to fears of the country fragmenting and
the war spilling over beyond its borders.
The UAE along with some
African players have backed the RSF, according to United Nations
experts, while Perriello was asked about reported Iranian support for the army,
which includes Islamist factions that grew strong under Bashir.
"We are hurtling right
now towards a situation where more and more actors appear to be getting
involved, where we could see a return of extremist elements that the Sudanese
people with great courage and over much time had mostly eradicated from the area,"
he said.
Sudan's army has not responded
to requests for comment on the alleged Iranian support.
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