Sudan’s warring sides remain in Jeddah despite end of ceasefire

Delegations from both Sudanese warring sides remain in Jeddah after the end of a ceasefire agreement as Saudi Arabia and the US continue to engage with them daily in an effort to facilitate humanitarian aid, the Kingdom’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.

A five-day ceasefire agreement between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) expired on Saturday June 3.
It was a Saudi-US-led attempt to help secure a ceasefire to ensure that aid and relief services enter Sudan without any danger.

However, the fragile ceasefire was violated multiple times by the warring sides and the Sudanese army announced last week that it was suspending talks with the rival paramilitary force.

On Thursday, the US and Saudi Arabia announced a suspension of the Jeddah talks. Washington and Riyadh criticized the army and the RSF for their violations of the ceasefire, which have impeded the delivery of badly needed humanitarian aid to civilians.

“Despite the formal pause in the Jeddah talks and the expiration on June 3 of the five-day ceasefire agreement, the delegations from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the [RSF] remain in Jeddah,” the foreign ministry’s statement said.

It said that discussions between both sides “are focused on facilitating humanitarian assistance and reaching agreement on near-terms steps the parties must take before the Jeddah talks resume.”
The statement reiterated that Saudi Arabia and the US as facilitators are ready to resume formal talks, while reminding the opposing sides of the need to commit and implement their obligations under a May 11 declaration of commitment to protect the civilians of Sudan.

“Saudi Arabia and the United States remain steadfast in their commitment to the people of Sudan and call upon the parties to agree and effectively implement a new ceasefire, with the aim of building to a permanent cessation of hostilities.”