UN Emergency Relief Coordinator on Sudan ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia

Status: 08.05.2023 01:16 am

Fighting in Sudan continues despite international efforts to reach a ceasefire. A UN emergency aid coordinator has also traveled to Saudi Arabia for talks.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks on the armed conflict in Sudan. UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko confirmed that Griffiths is currently in Jeddah “to deal with humanitarian issues related to Sudan”.

Discussions with representatives of conflict parties

According to the UN, Griffiths wanted to meet with representatives of the two generals who are fighting each other in Sudan – on the one hand army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and on the other hand Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary RSF group. There was no indication that Griffiths could play a direct role in brokering a possible ceasefire.

The conflict in Sudan affects the interests of many foreign powers.
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Few details of talks known

Sudanese and Saudi Arabian officials have so far given few details about the content and duration of the planned talks. Saudi Arabia recently only confirmed that negotiators from the Sudanese conflicting parties had arrived in Jeddah for direct talks.

According to a Saudi Arabian diplomat, representatives of Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the USA are also involved in the talks.

Representatives from the USA, Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates also come to the meeting.
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Probably preliminary negotiations

A joint US-Saudi Arabian statement on Saturday described the meetings in Jeddah as “pre-negotiation talks.” Saudi Arabia had played a key role in the evacuations from Sudan, sending ships to ferry thousands of civilians across the Red Sea from the Sudanese coastal city of Port Sudan.

At least 700 people have been killed and thousands more injured in fighting between the army and the RSF paramilitary group since April 15. The conflict triggered a mass exodus from the country.

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