Sudan's Warring Parties Continue Talks With UN Envoy

AFP Tuesday 16 Jul 2024

Talks between a UN envoy and delegations from both warring parties in Sudan are continuing in Geneva this week, the United Nations said Tuesday, focused on humanitarian aid and protecting civilians.

Women and children sit outside their tent, set up at a camp for internally displaced Sudanese from Sennar state, in the al-Huri district of Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 14, 2024. AFP

War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese regular army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, invited delegations from the army and the RSF for talks which began on Thursday.

The talks are taking place under the so-called proximity format, whereby Lamamra is meeting separately with each delegation at a time, in different rooms. The two delegations are not scheduled to meet each other.

Lamamra and his team had several interactions with both delegations throughout the weekend, UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told a media briefing.

"The teams engaged intensively on the two key items discussed during these talks: humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians," she said.

"The discussions are continuing this week."

The two delegations are comprised of senior representatives of the warring parties and include humanitarian, security and military experts.

The talks are in Geneva, with some of them taking place at the UN's Palais des Nations headquarters. No end date has been scheduled.

Despite being present in the Swiss city, one side did not show up for Thursday's first day of discussions, though the UN did not say which party. But both parties are now engaging with Lamamra.

"Now the personal envoy is engaged with both delegations," said Vellucci.

"With each delegation, he has engaged during the weekend, several times."

Lamamra, 72, is a former deputy prime minister of Algeria and was also the foreign minister. He was previously the African Union's commissioner for peace and security between 2008 and 2013.

The conflict in Sudan has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 10 million people, according to the United Nations.

A recent UN-backed report said nearly 26 million people, or slightly more than half of the population, were facing high levels of "acute food insecurity".