Sudan Govt to send delegation to Cairo for talks on Jeddah deal

KHARTOUM | Xinhua |  Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council on Sunday said the government will send a delegation to Cairo, Egypt, for talks on implementing the Jeddah agreement signed in May 2023.

“Based on contacts with the U.S. government, represented in the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello, and the Egyptian government requesting a meeting with a government delegation in Cairo to discuss the government’s vision on implementing the Jeddah agreement, the government will send a delegation to Cairo for this purpose,” the council said in a statement.

On Aug. 14, U.S.-led peace talks on Sudan’s conflict commenced in Geneva in an effort to achieve a nationwide ceasefire and facilitate humanitarian access.

However, only the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) participated in the talks, while the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) declined to join, citing concerns regarding the agenda and participants of the negotiations.

The SAF and the RSF exchanged accusations of violating the Jeddah deal, which stipulates protecting civilians as well as all private and public facilities and not using them for military purposes.

Sudan has been witnessing a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since April 15, 2023, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries, according to most recent UN data. ■