Sudan talks: US envoy rules out power-sharing formula for stricken nation

Army boycott of the talks remains in place as Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls on Gen Al Burhan to reconsider

Sudanese women staging a demonstration in Geneva to mark the opening day of Sudan ceasefire talks in Switzerland. AFP

Sudan peace talks continued in Switzerland on Thursday with the Sudanese military maintaining its boycott of the process and a senior US diplomat saying no agreement to end the fighting would feature a power-sharing arrangement between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The army, which has been fighting the RSF for 16 months of civil war, said its boycott of the US-sponsored talks was due to dissatisfaction with their format.

The war has created the world's largest displacement crisis and left more than half the population, or about 25 million people, facing acute hunger. However, the army-backed government on Thursday ordered the reopening of a key border crossing with Chad to allow humanitarian assistance to flow into the western region of Darfur, where hunger is more widespread than anywhere else in Sudan.

Peace talks held in Saudi Arabia's coastal city of Jeddah – sponsored by both the US and the Saudis – failed to pause the fighting despite a string of declared ceasefires. A humanitarian deal reached in May last year to alleviate the suffering of civilians affected by the conflict is also yet to be implemented.

After two days of talks between Sudanese and US officials earlier this month in Jeddah, Sudan's army-backed government said it was unhappy with the format of the negotiations, particularly the addition of new observers. It also claimed the US was wrongly assessing the situation in Sudan.

The talks are co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the African Union, Egypt, the UAE and UN forming a steering group.

They began in Geneva on Wednesday without Sudanese army representation, although US officials said they would continue to try to persuade army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan to send delegates to join the process, which is held behind closed doors at an undisclosed location and could last up to 10 days.

Sudan's armed forces taking part in a military parade in Gedaref, eastern Sudan. AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed directly to Gen Al Burhan by telephone on Wednesday night to reconsider joining the talks.

He “reiterated the need for participation” and told him of the “urgent need” for both sides “to end the war and guarantee humanitarian access for the millions of Sudanese who are suffering”, said US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

On Thursday, the Sudanese military said Gen Al Burhan had reaffirmed to Mr Blinken his opposition to expanding the number of observers and facilitators in the negotiations.

“He also repeated to him the Sudanese position; which is a commitment to the implementation of the Jeddah deal,” said the statement, alluding to the humanitarian agreement reached in Jeddah that obliges the two sides to protect civilians and allow the entry and distribution of relief aid.

The deal also says the RSF should vacate private homes and state installations it has occupied since the war broke out.

US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello at a press briefing in Geneva. AFP

In a show of goodwill, Sudan's military-led sovereign council said on Thursday it would allow the use of the Adre border crossing with Chad for three months to enable humanitarian aid to enter Darfur, where more than 6 million people are said to be facing food insecurity.

Darfur, which is mostly controlled by the RSF, is also home to the Zamzam camp for the displaced where famine was recently declared.

The Adre crossing was closed by the government in February amid allegations that it was being used to send weapons to the RSF. The decision to reopen it appeared timed to coincide with the talks in Switzerland and to mitigate charges that the army was contributing to the suffering of the Sudanese.

“We continue our relentless work with international partners to save lives and ensure we achieve tangible results," US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello said on Thursday, portraying the talks in a positive way despite the absence of the military.

In an online interview posted on Thursday, Mr Perriello responded to the army's opposition to the replacement of the so-called Jeddah forum with the talks in Switzerland.

“They are an evolution of the Jeddah process,” he said, adding that an agreement in Switzerland on the cessation of hostilities was possible. He also addressed the fear shared by many Sudanese that the RSF emerges victorious from the war and takes control of the country.

“An outright victory for the RSF is completely unacceptable” he said while assuring that there would be “no power-sharing arrangement that gives the RSF a political role.”

The RSF evolved from a notorious militia called the Janjaweed which is accused of committing atrocities against civilians when it fought on the government side against rebels in the Darfur region in the 2000s. Its fighters are also accused of killing thousands of ethnic Africans last summer in attacks that are being investigated by the International Criminal Court.

A member of Sudan's armed forces during a military parade held on Army Day in Port Sudan. AFP

The army is also accused of causing the death of thousands of civilians in air strikes targeting RSF positions in heavily populated areas.

The war in Sudan broke out after weeks of tension over the role of the army and RSF descended into violence. The fighting was initially restricted to the capital Khartoum but later spread across much of the country, with the RSF seizing large areas of territory from the army.

Both sides claim to be fighting for a democratic Sudan and vow to put the country on the right path of freedom and prosperity. However, the conflict is rooted in a 2021 coup jointly staged by Gen Al Burhan and his one-time ally Gen Mohamed Dagalo, the commander of the RSF.

The coup overthrew a transitional government that took office after the ousting in 2019 of dictator Omar Al Bashir amid a popular uprising, derailing the country's transition to democratic rule and plunging it into one of its worst political and economic crisis.

Al Shafie Ahmed contributed to this report from Kampala, Uganda