UN envoy says Sudan's warring sides agree to negotiate, potentially in Saudi

Sudan’s warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the United Nations’ top official in the country told The Associated Press on May 1, even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

Sudan's warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the United Nations' top official in the country told The Associated Press on May 1, even as the two sides clashed in the capital despite another three-day extension of a fragile cease-fire.

The talks would initially focus on establishing a “stable and reliable” cease-fire monitored by “national and international” observers, Volker Perthes said. A string of temporary truces over the past week has de-escalated fighting only in some areas, while in others, fierce battles have continued to drive civilians from their homes and push the country into a humanitarian crisis.

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Perthes cautioned that logistics for talks were still being worked out. So far, only the military has announced it is prepared to join negotiations, with no public word from its opponent, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Any talks would be the first major sign of progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the Army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Around 530 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed since, with another 4,500 wounded, the Sudanese Health Ministry said.

The United States, meanwhile, conducted its first evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. Watched over by U.S. military drones, a group of Americans made the perilous journey by road from the capital, Khartoum, to the Red Sea city of Port Sudan. On May 1, a U.S. Navy fast transport ship took 308 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah, according to Saudi officials.

Explosions and gunfire echoed in parts of Khartoum and its neighbouring city, Omdurman, on May 1, residents said. The two sides announced late on April 30 they would abide by a 72-hour extension of their nominal cease-fire of the past week. The United States and Saudi Arabia have led a concerted international campaign to get the general to stop fighting, then engage in deeper negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking from Port Sudan, the U.N. envoy Perthes said they still face daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by the truce.