Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Saturday that envoys from Sudan’s army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were in Jeddah for talks, as international mediators urged for an end to the three-week-long conflict.
After years of instability and revolutions, an international effort to restore civilian rule to Sudan has stagnated, but the US-Saudi plan is the first serious attempt to end the bloodshed that has turned parts of the capital city of Khartoum into battle zones.
Following several ceasefire violations, the US and Saudi Arabia welcomed the “pre-negotiation talks” between the army and the RSF and urged them to actively engage.
Both sides have said unequivocally that they are only interested in discussing a humanitarian ceasefire and not in negotiating a resolution to the war.
RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, acknowledged the presence of his group and expressed hope that the conversations will result in the safe passage of civilians.
The Sudanese military claimed to have dispatched a delegation to the Red Sea city on Friday night, but special envoy Dafallah Alhaj said that the army would not meet with any members from the “rebellious” RSF.
Meanwhile, Hemedti has promised to arrest or assassinate army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and intelligence from the ground suggests that neither side is willing to make compromises to end the bloodshed.
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan tweeted his wish for “dialogue that we hope will lead to the end of the conflict.”
Overnight, residents of Bahri, a city on the other bank of the Nile from Khartoum, were startled by the sounds of jets and explosions. “We don’t leave the house because we’re scared of stray bullets,” one anonymous resident stated.
An eyewitness in Eastern Khartoum stated on Saturday that there were gun fights and air raids over residential homes. Several witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion and seeing a cloud of smoke coming from what seemed to be Bahri’s industrial zone later in the day.
According to a Turkish embassy source, unknown gunmen also attacked the ambassador’s car. Inside the embassy, the ambassador was safe. Following the event, Turkey’s foreign minister said that the country’s embassy would be relocated from Khartoum to Port Sudan.
Both the RSF and the army accused each other for the attack. On April 15, an internationally endorsed plan for a democratic transition failed, prompting the bloodshed.
Burhan, a professional army officer, and Hemedti, a former militia leader who came to prominence during the Darfur war, currently lead a governing council formed after the ouster of longstanding ruler Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and a military coup in 2021.
Hemedti’s activities leading up to the battle, such as building links with a civilian coalition, suggested a political career. Burhan argues that he is to blame for the violence because of his own “ambitions.”
