Sudan’s capital was hit by air strikes on Saturday (May 6), marking its 22nd day of combat, just hours before the warring parties begin their first direct talks in Saudi Arabia. The five million-strong city wars continue to cause chaos.
Since the outbreak of the war on April 15, dozens of people have been killed by Sudan’s de facto leader abdel fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Multiple truces have been struck, but none of them have been followed.
The army and RSF will hold direct talks in Jeddah on Saturday (May 6), according to a joint statement by the US and Saudi Arabia describing them as “pre-negotiation talks.”
The army confirmed it had sent envoys to Saudi Arabia to discuss “details of the truce in the process of being extended” with its paramilitary foes.
The general, whose force descended from the Janjaweed militia accused of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region, affirmed “the need to reach a civilian transitional government that… achieves the aspirations of our people”.