Monday 16 / December / 2024
Bern: Delegates from Sudan started talks in Switzerland on the 16-month civil war on Wednesday, with the US playing a key role in the summit.
Washington says it hopes to secure a truce which would allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need. However, achieving this goal is likely be made harder due to the absence of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which rejected the US invitation.
A power struggle between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been raging in the African country since April 2023, causing massive displacement and hunger.
The talks are held at an undisclosed location and could last up to 10 days.
US: Time for 'guns to be silenced!'
The summit is co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.
"Our focus is to move forward to achieve a cessation of hostilities, enhance humanitarian access and establish enforcement mechanisms that deliver concrete results," US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said earlier this week.
Ahead of the start of the talks, Perriello also said it was "high time for the guns to be silenced!"
"The RSF delegation has arrived in Switzerland. Our US delegation, and the collective international partners, technical experts, and Sudanese civil society, are still waiting on the SAF. The world is watching," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Why is the SAF not attending?
The SAF has expressed dissatisfaction with the format chosen by the US.
The army objects to the presence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is there as part of a steering group alongside the African Union, Egypt and the United Nations. The military leaders have repeatedly accusing the UAE of backing the RSF.
Sudanese Media Minister Graham Abdelkader said ahead of the talks that the government was rejecting "any new observers or participants" after Washington "insisted on the participation of the United Arab Emirates as an observer."
