Sudan peace efforts stumble as generals keep up deadly fighting

Fighting in the North African country, now in its third week, has killed more than 500 people and sent about 50,000 fleeing across borders, according to the UN

A UN spokesperson said a planned meeting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has been agreed to but a date hasn’t been set

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Smoke rises above buildings after aerial bombardment, during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:19pm, 2 May 2023

Efforts to hold peace talks between two warring generals in Sudan appeared to have faltered as yet another ceasefire was broken and the African Union planned an emergency session to discuss how to end the conflict.

The fighting in the North African country, now in its third week, has killed more than 500 people and sent about 50,000 fleeing across borders, according to the United Nations.

The region is now preparing for the possibility that more than 800,000 may flood into neighbouring countries, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Monday.

Air strikes, heavy shelling and gunfire have continued across strategic sites in the capital, Khartoum, as Sudan’s army sought to target bases and supply lines used by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to Western diplomats and an internal UN document seen by Bloomberg.

A UN spokesperson said a planned meeting between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the RSF, in Saudi Arabia – which has strongly backed both sides in recent years – has been agreed to but a date hasn’t yet been set.

A competing effort to broker talks by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a bloc of regional African countries, could complicate matters, people briefed on the situation said.

In statements, both sides accused the other of breaking yet another ceasefire. Spokespeople for the army and RSF didn’t respond to questions regarding peace talks.