Sudan's government has said it will send a delegation to Cairo to discuss a return to the Jeddah Declaration, an agreement signed by the rivals in the country's protracted civil war last year.
The decision comes after the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), which controls the government, refused to attend US-led ceasefire talks with a paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Geneva last week.
The conflict between the SAF, led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen Mohamed Dagalo, has been raging since April last year, resulting in widespread destruction, the displacement of more than eight million people, food shortages and the spread of disease.
The death toll was estimated by the independent Sudan’s Doctors’ Union in June to have exceeded 40,000.
The SAF has so far rejected the Geneva talks, insisting on a return to the Jeddah Declaration signed with the RSF in May 2023.
The declaration, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US, allowed for safe passage of civilians, distinguished between civilian and military targets, and committed both sides to refraining from human rights abuse. However, the UN and Human Rights Watch found the warring parties have failed to adhere to the terms of the Jeddah agreement and the war has intensified since it was signed.
Sudan's government, the Transitional Sovereign Council, said its decision to send a delegation to Cairo was “based on contact with the American government represented by the American envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello, and contact with the Egyptian government”.
It gave no further details on the timing of the talks or who would attend.
The TSC, headed by Gen Al Burhan, who also serves as the commander-in-chief of the SAF, has been largely dominated by the military since the ousting of civilian members after a coup in October 2021.
A delegation from the RSF has been in attendance at the Geneva talks since they started on Wednesday. In a statement on Saturday, the delegation said it held meetings with officials from the US, Saudi Arabia and the African Union.
The RSF accused the SAF of refusing to engage in ceasefire negotiations and prolonging hostilities due to fragmented decision-making and the influence of "terrorist Islamist" elements in the army.
On the other hand, Gen Al Burhan insisted the armed forces would not be signing any new agreements with the RSF and that it was only interested in returning to the Jeddah agreement.
Gen Al Burhan also said he rejected any mediation in the conflict that was not coming from Saudi Arabia or the US. He said violations by the RSF in Sudan were “unprecedented in all the world’s wars”.
African affairs analyst Hatim Dardiri told The National the Geneva process is going to be rife with obstacles, particularly because the talks present both warring parties as legitimate state actors in Sudan, he said.
"Yes, both sides have made mistakes, but the armed forces predate the forming of Sudan itself and should be treated as a more legitimate state representative," he said.
"The US has ignored many of the intricacies of the situation because when you have one side being a veritable national symbol and the other employing soldiers that have robbed millions of citizens of their possessions and violated their mothers, daughters and wives, they cannot be equated in the eyes of the Sudanese people."
Regional and international efforts to broker a lasting ceasefire and revive a political transition have been complicated by the deep mistrust between the two sides and their reluctance to engage in direct talks.
The situation remains fluid as diplomatic efforts continue to find a path towards peace and stability in Sudan.
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Company%20Profile
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Australia squads
ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
