GENEVA: The United Nations described talks between its envoy and delegations from Sudan’s warring parties as a promising first step.
Since April 2023, conflict has pitted Sudan’s regular army, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), formerly under his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, convened separate meetings in Geneva with the army and RSF delegations to discuss humanitarian aid and civilian protection. The talks, conducted in a proximity format with Lamamra meeting each group separately in different rooms, commenced on July 11 and are expected to wrap up today.
During approximately 20 meetings, Lamamra and his team engaged senior representatives from both parties, including humanitarian, security, and military experts. UN spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci, speaking in Geneva, expressed optimism about the parties’ willingness to address critical Sudanese issues and urged swift progress on existing agreements and potential unilateral commitments.
Vellucci characterized the discussions in Geneva as an encouraging initial phase in a complex process, stressing Lamamra’s ongoing dialogue with leadership from both sides. The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties and displaced over 10 million people, with nearly half the population facing acute food insecurity, according to a recent UN report.
Both sides have faced allegations of war crimes, including indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and attacks on civilians.”
