Sudan warring sides agree to negotiate, says UN envoy – Times of India

CAIRO: Sudan’s warring generals have agreed to send representatives for negotiations, potentially in Saudi Arabia, the top UN official in the country said on Monday, even as the two sides clashed in the capital of Khartoum despite another three­day extension of a fragile ceasefire. If the talks come together, they would initially focus on establishing a “stable and reliable” ceasefire, Volker Perthes told AP. However, he warned of challenges in holding the negotiations.
A string of temporary truces over the past week has eased fighting only in some areas while fierce battles have continued elsewhere, driving civilians from their homes and pushing Sudan further into disaster. The US conducted its first evacuation of American civilians from Sudan. On Monday, a US Navy fast transport ship took 308 evacuees from Port Sudan to the Saudi port of Jeddah, according to Saudi officials.
Direct talks, if they take place, would be significant progress since fighting erupted on April 15 between the army and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces. For much of the conflict, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to fight to the end. At least 436 civilians have been killed and over 1,200 injured since fighting began.
Speaking from Port Sudan, Perthes said there are still daunting challenges in getting the two sides to abide by a real halt in fighting. One possibility was to establish a monitoring mechanism that includes Sudanese and foreign observers, “but that has to be negotiated”. Talks on a sustained ceasefire could take place in either Saudi Arabia or South Sudan, he said.