Sudan peace brokers relaunch as 'Alps Group' as Geneva talks end

Mediators, including US, UAE and Egypt, say progress in humanitarian access, but no ceasefire agreed

Displaced people in the eastern city of Gedaref. Millions of people in Sudan have been displaced by the war. AFP

Sudan peace negotiators – including the US, UAE and Egypt – reported some progress after 10 days of talks on Friday, as they relaunched as an alliance called the Alps Group.

The Sudanese army and its rival the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have pledged to provide “safe and unhindered humanitarian access” after 16 months of civil war, mediators said.

They said the RSF has agreed to a code of conduct for its fighters, with orders to respect civilians.

However, there was no ceasefire agreement to the fighting, with the Sudanese Armed Forces refusing to attend the talks in Geneva.

Sibylle Obrist, the head of the Swiss delegation, US special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello, and head of the Saudi delegation Ali bin Hassan Jafar, in Geneva on Friday. AFP

Brokering the talks, the US, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, the African Union and the UN said there were “results and momentum” to build on.

They have styled themselves the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (Alps) Group – a nod to the Swiss hosts. The group “remains open to both parties joining future rounds of talks to urgently relieve Sudanese suffering”, it said in a joint statement.

“Though we were in consistent communication with SAF virtually, we regret their decision not to be present, and we believe that limited our ability to make more substantial progress towards key issues, particularly a national cessation of hostilities.

“We remain committed to answering the call of the people of Sudan to pursue a national cessation of hostilities, secure humanitarian access to every state across the country, and negotiate an immediate cessation of hostilities in areas such as El Fasher, Khartoum, and Sennar.”

Lana Nusseibeh, the head of the UAE’s delegation in Geneva, said the 10-day talks had been “incredibly constructive, productive and motivated”.

“I know the people of Sudan will really appreciate these efforts here,” she said. “What we need to see in Sudan is a stop to the fighting. We will continue to do the work to try and get to that cessation of hostilities.”

On Saturday, Ms Nusseibeh released a statement addressing the talks.

"We did not make the progress we would have wished on a full cessation of hostilities that would lead to an end to the war," she said .

"We of course regret the fact that one party chose not to participate in these talks," she added, referring to the army-backed government's boycott.

Anti-war campaigners in Geneva, during peace talks there to end the 16-month conflict in Sudan. EPA

Negotiators have warned of 25 million people facing hunger and 10 million displaced, as the sides fight for control.

The focus of aid efforts is the Darfur region, in western Sudan, where a battle is raging for control of El Fasher, and the Zamzam displaced people's camp is in the grip of famine.

"We agreed on practical steps regarding humanitarian access and the protection of civilians. This includes permission for the UN to use the Adre border crossing into Sudan, and the facilitation of aid to people suffering famine in Zamzam camp and elsewhere in Darfur," Ms Nusseibeh said.

UN agencies reported on Friday that 658 cases of cholera have been recorded in a recent outbreak, after weeks of heavy rainfall.

“We are talking about people dying of hunger, we have conflict, we have protection issues, we have displacements on a daily basis; the needs are just huge,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees representative Kristine Hambrouck.

Both sides have agreed to respect a western aid route through a Darfur border crossing and a second point of access from Port Sudan, the mediators said.

They said the RSF had agreed to use a new “streamlined” system notifying fighters about aid deliveries.

Its fighters will also be given commands to “refrain from violations”, including attacks on women, children aid operations and food supplies, said the Alps statement.

"The RSF has also committed during the talks to new and important directives on the protection of civilians, including [preventing] sexual and gender-based violence, the recruitment of children, and forced disappearance," Ms Nusseibeh added.

A sanitation worker sprays disinfectant in eastern Sudan, with UN agencies warning of hundreds of cholera cases. AFP

There was no word on fighters leaving civilian homes, where some have set up camp, as had been envisaged in a 2023 accord in Jeddah.

US envoy Tom Perriello said peace efforts would continue as a “24/7 operation” even as the first round in Geneva ends. He did not give a date for any future in-person talks.

He praised the Alps group diplomats for a results-focused willingness to “get creative” when one side was missing from the talks, with go-between negotiators speaking to the armed forces by phone several times a day.

“The urgency of the crisis is one in which we don’t want to be constrained by the formal dates of when we can get on aeroplanes,” he said.

Sybille Obrist, the head of Switzerland’s delegation, said the goal of the Alps group was that the world “speaks with one voice on the war in Sudan and its devastating consequences”.

The peace brokers in Geneva are eager for both sides to fulfil the terms of the Jeddah text, in which they signed up to certain “core obligations” during the fighting.

Mediators have proposed a “compliance mechanism” to settle disputes about Jeddah or the terms of any future agreements.

But the US is unwilling to turn the negotiations into wider political talks on Sudan's future, with army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan invited only in a military capacity.

The RSF meanwhile accused the army of a “deeply troubling escalation” involving air strikes on civilian areas while the talks went on in Geneva.

Mr Perriello said the talks had brought “some breakthroughs” on humanitarian access in Sudan but described them as “just the beginning”. He warned that the progress made was "absolutely vulnerable to being taken away at any second".

“What we saw two weeks ago was paralysis and we wanted to replace that with producing results,” he said. “We hope that this will be a source of momentum for much bigger steps and progress down the road.”