Sudanese army withdraws from ceasefire talks with paramilitary forces

The Sudanese military has terminated cease-fire talks with the country’s paramilitary forces.

According to an unnamed Sudanese official quoted by Agence France-Presse, the government walked away from the talks “because the rebels have never implemented a single provision of a short-term ceasefire,” including the withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings, and because paramilitary forces have repeatedly violated the ceasefire.

In a late-Tuesday statement cited by Reuters, the paramilitary forces declared their commitment to the cease-fire “despite repeated violations” by the army.

Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, has been plagued by violence and anarchy since April 15, when combat broke out between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after tensions between military commander General Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF head General Mohamed Hamdan Degala soured.

Former allies, the two generals orchestrated a military rebellion in October 2021 that derailed a transition to civilian rule following the ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

Disagreements among the generals over how the RSF should be incorporated into the army and who should supervise this process have heightened tensions between them. Restructuring the military was part of an endeavor to restore civilian authority and end the political crisis caused by the military rebellion of 2021.

In the Saudi port city of Jeddah, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been supervising ongoing cease-fire negotiations between the two parties, but both have repeatedly violated every agreement. Monday, mediators reported that the army and the RSF had agreed to a five-day extension of a cease-fire allowing humanitarian aid into Sudan.

The conflict has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and the displacement of more than 1.4 million people, with approximately 350,000 fleeing to neighboring nations. Khartoum has been subjected to frequent power outages, with large portions of the city lacking flowing water and the majority of its hospitals closed.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed information to this report.