Sudanese Army Delegation Resumes Negotiations with Rapid Support Forces in Jeddah

CAIRO - 16 July 2023: A Sudanese diplomatic source confirmed on Sunday that a delegation from the Sudanese Army has returned to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to resume negotiations with the 'Rapid Support Forces'. The "Anadolu" Agency reported earlier today that the military delegation returned to Jeddah on Saturday evening to resume talks.

The Sudanese Army delegation had previously suspended its participation in the negotiations, which were conducted in Jeddah at the end of May, in protest against what they considered to be "breaches of the ceasefire by the Rapid Support Forces". Neither the Rapid Support Forces nor the Saudi host authorities commented on the suspension at that time.

In a related development, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, the commander of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces, previously announced the formation of a committee to communicate with political powers and armed movements in Sudan to consult them about the ongoing crisis in the country that has lasted for three months.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Dagalo expressed his commitment to the principle of dialogue as an essential necessity to reach a comprehensive political solution. The statement added that in view of the developments in the country due to the war, and the need to end it, wide-ranging consultations were necessary to address the roots of the ongoing national crisis.

Violent and widespread clashes between the Sudanese Army and Rapid Support Forces have continued for three months in various regions of Sudan, most of them concentrated in the capital, Khartoum, resulting in hundreds of civilian casualties.

Arab, African, and international parties have mediated to cease fire in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. However, these mediations have not succeeded in reaching a permanent ceasefire. In contrast, talks sponsored jointly by Riyadh and Washington between representatives of both sides in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have several times led to a temporary cessation of hostilities, but these have not been consistently adhered to.

The disagreements between the head of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, became public after the signing of the "Framework Agreement", which established the transition period between the military and civilian components last December. This agreement affirmed the army's withdrawal from politics and the handover of power to civilians.

Dagalo has accused the Sudanese army of planning to stay in power and not handing over authority to civilians after the army's demands to integrate the Rapid Support Forces under the banner of the armed forces, while the army has seen the moves of the Rapid Support Forces as a rebellion against the state.