Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry: Sudan Cease-Fire Talks Resume

FILE — Sudan's Head of Transitional Military Council, Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, celebrates the signing of the power sharing deal, alongside his deputy and now leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Dagalo,in Khartoum, Aug. 17, 2019.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry Thursday said Sudan's rival forces have resumed cease-fire negotiations aimed at ending six months of conflict that has resulted in the death of over 9,000 people.

A statement released by the Arab nation's foreign ministry read, "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the resumption of talks between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and representatives of the Rapid Support Forces in the city of Jeddah."

"The Kingdom affirms its keenness on unity of ranks... to stop the bloodshed and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people," added the statement.

Saudi officials have expressed hope that the talks will lead to "a political agreement under which security, stability and prosperity will be achieved for Sudan and its brotherly people."

All negotiators should abide by an earlier agreement announced on May 11 to protect civilians, as well as a short-term cease-fire agreement signed on May 20, read the Saudi statement.

Through their statement, Saudi's foreign ministry said the latest talks are occurring "in partnership" with representatives of the African Union and the East African regional bloc IGAD, led by Kenya, an ally of the United States.

Since April, conflict between Sudan's rival forces, the Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, under the leadership of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, led by the army chief's former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has killed more than 9,000 people and displaced over 5.6 million.

The rival forces on Wednesday said they had accepted an invitation to resume U.S.-Saudi-brokered negotiations in Jeddah.

Previous mediation attempts yielded brief truces, but were systematically violated.