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The northeastern African nation plunged into chaos in April last year when tensions between the military and the RSF turned into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country.
The first day of U.S.-led peace talks aimed at finding a solution to Sudan’s brutal conflict concluded recently in Geneva with the country’s military absent and the other warring party’s participation unclear.
The talks come as the war-wrecked country faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. The country’s military did not send representatives and it did not appear that delegates from the other warring party, the Rapid Support Forces, attended Wednesday’s session to take the peace talks to its logical end. Diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, The United Arab Emirates, the African Union, and the United Nations were at the talks.
The northeastern African nation plunged into chaos in April last year when tensions between the military and the RSF turned into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country.
The statement was posted on X by U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello, along with photos of the day’s discussions. No RSF representatives appeared in the photos, but the RSF said Tuesday that the paramilitary force’s delegation had arrived in Switzerland.
A spokesman for the RSF declined to comment on the talks or the presence of the group’s delegation at Wednesday’s session. The Rapid Support Forces were formed from Janjaweed fighters created under former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades before being overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.
Meanwhile, officials continued to call for the country’s military to join the negotiations. But Sudan’s military leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, said the military would not talk about a cease-fire until the RSF stopped seizing civilian homes. He blamed the RSF for “falsely claiming peace,” while still committing acts of war.
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The conflict has killed thousands of people and pushed many into starvation. Its atrocities include mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.
