Sudan's Sovereign Council head demands US address its concerns before peace talks

By Adel Abdel-Rahim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) - The head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council on Tuesday demanded that the US address its concerns before any peace negotiations with the opposing paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"I received a call from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and spoke to him about the necessity of addressing the concerns of the Sudanese government before starting any negotiations," Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the chairman of the country's Transitional Sovereignty Council and head of its army, said on X.

The discussion came ahead of a later phone call between Blinken and RSF chief Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as "Hemedti," before the US-backed peace negotiations between the two sides, set to begin in Switzerland on Aug. 14.

The talks will aim to end months of civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF that broke out in April last year.

Al-Burhan also said he told Blinken that the RSF continued attacking the western city of Al-Fasher and denying access to food to displaced people in the city.

According to a statement by US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller, Blinken "emphasized that the devastation and destruction since April 2023 demonstrate that convening national cease-fire talks is the only way to end the conflict."

"The Secretary underscored the need to urgently end the fighting and enable unhindered humanitarian access, including cross border and cross line, to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people," Miller also said.

Since mid-April 2023, the SAF and RSF have been engaged in a conflict that has killed over 15,000 people and resulted in around 10 million displaced and refugees, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara