US-Saudi push to end Sudan fighting opens door to dialogue

NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania -- As the armed conflict in Sudan continues to claim lives and cause displacement on a massive scale, US and Saudi efforts to bring an end to the fighting have been welcomed, albeit with caution.

When fighting erupted April 15 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), civilian leaders in Sudan called for an immediate ceasefire, as did the African Union, the United Nations and various countries.

As the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), fought, envoys from both sides have been negotiating in the Saudi city of Jeddah, in US and Saudi-backed talks.

The negotiations yielded a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire, the "Jeddah Agreement", starting April 25, which the paramilitaries and the army repeatedly extended as they continued to trade fire, accusing each other of violating it.

Though a ceasefire has remained elusive, by May 11 the two sides had signed a commitment to respect humanitarian principles and allow urgently needed humanitarian aid to reach war-struck areas.

Pursuant to this agreement, safe passages are to be opened to enable civilians to leave the areas where clashes are taking place and to help those who are stranded access these routes to safety.

Riyadh also played a leading role in evacuating civilians from Sudan after the fighting erupted.

US-Saudi initiative

The US-Saudi initiative is significant on many levels, writer and broadcaster Mohamed Fadel Abdel Latif al-Mauritani told Al-Mashareq.

First of all it is necessary "to find a solution to the Sudanese crisis and to integrate with regional rescue efforts by adding an international initiative supported by two major countries that are not involved in the conflict", he said.

Saudi Arabia has spearheaded "the largest rescue campaign in the history of the Red Sea with the United States", he said, and has been contributing heavily to refugee relief efforts amid the crisis, in addition to supporting diplomacy.

The kingdom has said that talks will continue in Jeddah between the two parties to the conflict in Sudan, with the aim of reaching a ceasefire agreement for at least 10 days under US-Saudi international monitoring.

This is intended to pave the way for consultations that the two parties hope will end the armed conflict.

Meeting in Jeddah on Tuesday (May 16) ahead of Friday's Arab League summit, the Saudi government underscored the kingdom's continued efforts to resolve the crisis in Sudan and restore its security and stability, Asharq al-Awsat reported.

The Arab League summit offers a "unique opportunity" to resolve the conflict in Sudan, Djibouti's foreign minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf told Arab News.

Sudan is a member of the Arab League.

Cautious welcome

Inside Sudan, the US-Saudi initiative was received with caution, which is "natural for a people who have not experienced political stability since Omar al-Bashir was overthrown", a Sudanese journalist said, on condition of anonymity.

"So far, we have not seen any tangible impact from the Saudi-US initiative on the bitter reality on the ground, as many have become utterly convinced that this war will not end anytime soon," she told Al-Mashareq.

"Many Sudanese inside Sudan are worried, and even those who find themselves on the side of one of the two sides are doing so only to protect themselves," she added.

The Sudanese Human Rights Defenders group described the commitment to respect humanitarian principles signed on May 11 between Sudan's armed forces and the RSF as ambiguous in many of its provisions.

But the rights group said in a statement that it "can only welcome this humanitarian declaration, despite its modest scope, as a first step toward stopping the war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces".

It noted that the move will allow "the delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected by the immense catastrophe that has gripped Sudan for [over] a month of fierce fighting".

And it called for the two parties to orient themselves towards achieving peace, urging them to show the will to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement.

It also called for "urging political, societal and trade union forces to stop being spectators and begin to deal positively with the Saudi-US initiative".

Deepening crisis

As of early May, more than 100,000 Sudanese had been displaced since the outbreak of fighting, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with more than 1,000 killed and more than 5,000 wounded.

More than one million are expected to flee into neighbouring countries this year.

"Today, 25 million people -- more than half the population of Sudan -- needs humanitarian aid and protection," Ramesh Rajasingham of the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva said Wednesday.

"That is the highest number we have ever seen in the country," he said.

Before the outbreak of fighting, AFP reported, one in three already relied on assistance and millions had been displaced by previous conflicts.

The situation in Sudan has been further complicated by the involvement of outside parties pursuing various interests -- among them the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, whose mercenaries are rumoured to be supporting the RSF.

Sudan has become a battleground for foreign fighters and shadowy military backers lured by money and gold, with armed "fortune seekers" flooding into the fight from across the Sahel region, per UN special representative Volker Perthes.

In light of the unfolding crisis, US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee on May 12 travelled from Jeddah, where she has been since May 6, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to present a roadmap for the upcoming negotiations.

She met with the African Union, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and other African partners to consult and co-ordinate next steps among regional and international partners to help end the conflict in Sudan.