Sudan ceasefire talks between army, RSF kick off in Saudi Arabia – statement

Jeddah, OCTOBER 29, 2023 (SUDANS POST – The Saudi foreign ministry has announced that talks aimed at ending the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has begun.

In a statement seen by Sudans Post, the ministry of foreign affairs of Saudi Arabia said the talks are being facilitated by the United States, the African Union (AU), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Saudi Arabi.

The statement said that the Sudanese parties have agreed that the facilitators will be the sole joint spokespersons for the talks and will also enforce a code of conduct agreed upon by the parties with the aim to guide the talks.

The conflict between the two former allies begun in April 2023 after a dispute over when the RSF should be integrated into the army and what the future army would look like.

While army wanted the process to be completed within two years, the RSF wants a longer timeframe of ten years.

The conflict resulted in the killing of thousands of innocent civilians and displaced millions both to neighboring countries and to internal areas.

The conflict has also caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with millions of people in need of food, water, and shelter.

The talks in Jeddah are the first direct talks between the SAF and RSF since the conflict began.

The foreign ministry statement said that the talks are expected to focus on two main areas: facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict and achieving a ceasefire.