Sudan's Al Burhan to send delegation to Cairo for peace talks

Army is adamant over return to Jeddah Declaration as it rejects ceasefire negotiations in Geneva

Sudan's army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan. The military has so far rejected the Geneva talks, insisting on a return to the Jeddah Declaration signed with the RSF in May 2023. AFP

Sudan's government has said it will send a delegation to Cairo to discuss a return to the Jeddah Declaration, an agreement signed by the rivals in the country's protracted civil war last year.

The decision comes after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which controls the government, refused to attend US-led ceasefire talks with a paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Geneva last week.

The conflict between the SAF, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, has been raging since April last year, resulting in widespread destruction, the displacement of more than eight million people, food shortages and the spread of disease.

The death toll was estimated by the independent Sudan’s Doctors’ Union in June to have exceeded 40,000.

The SAF has so far rejected the Geneva talks, insisting on a return to the Jeddah Declaration signed with the RSF in May 2023.

The declaration, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US, allowed for safe passage of civilians, distinguished between civilian and military targets, and committed both sides to refraining from human rights abuse. However, the UN and Human Rights Watch found the warring parties have failed to adhere to the terms of the Jeddah agreement and the war has intensified since it was signed.

Sudan's government, the Transitional Sovereign Council, said its decision to send a delegation to Cairo was “based on contact with the American government represented by the American envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, and contact with the Egyptian government”.

It gave no further details on the timing of the talks or who would attend.

The TSC, headed by Gen Al Burhan, who also serves as the commander-in-chief of the SAF, has been largely dominated by the military since the ousting of civilian members after a coup in October 2021.

A delegation from the RSF has been in attendance at the Geneva talks since they started on Wednesday. In a statement on Saturday, the delegation said it held meetings with officials from the US, Saudi Arabia and the African Union.

The RSF accused the SAF of refusing to engage in ceasefire negotiations and prolonging hostilities due to fragmented decision-making and the influence of "terrorist Islamist" elements in the army.

On the other hand, Gen Al Burhan insisted the armed forces would not be signing any new agreements with the RSF and that it was only interested in returning to the Jeddah agreement.

Gen Al Burhan also said he rejected any mediation in the conflict that was not coming from Saudi Arabia or the US. He said violations by the RSF in Sudan were “unprecedented in all the world’s wars”.

African affairs analyst Hatim Dardiri told The National the Geneva process is going to be rife with obstacles, particularly because the talks present both warring parties as legitimate state actors in Sudan, he said.

"Yes, both sides have made mistakes, but the armed forces predate the forming of Sudan itself and should be treated as a more legitimate state representative," he said.

"The US has ignored many of the intricacies of the situation because when you have one side being a veritable national symbol and the other employing soldiers that have robbed millions of citizens of their possessions and violated their mothers, daughters and wives, they cannot be equated in the eyes of the Sudanese people."

Regional and international efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire and revive a political transition have been complicated by the deep mistrust between the two sides and their reluctance to engage in direct talks.

The situation remains fluid as diplomatic efforts continue to find a path towards peace and stability in Sudan.