Fighting erupted in southern Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, while Saudi Arabia hosted representatives from both warring parties for talks that international mediators hope will end the ongoing conflict that has lasted for three weeks, causing hundreds of deaths and displacing thousands.
Sudanese people are pinning their hopes on the negotiations to end the violence that has claimed many lives and triggered waves of mass fleeing from the country, but there are no signs that this effort will lead to a lasting calm anytime soon. Reports of progress in the talks, which began in Jeddah on Saturday between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), have not emerged. Both sides of the conflict stated they would focus only on humanitarian issues, such as opening safe corridors, and that they would not negotiate a ceasefire. Witnesses reported hearing airstrikes and clashes across Khartoum on Monday. Tamadur Ibrahim, a 35-year-old government employee in Bahri on the opposite bank of the Blue Nile, feared that "if the Jeddah negotiations fail to stop the war, it means we will not be able to return to our homes and our lives... we are waiting for the outcome of those negotiations as they are our only hope."
Mahgoub Salah, a 28-year-old doctor, mentioned that areas in the capital experiencing violence change from day to day. He witnessed violent fighting and saw one of his neighbors shot in the stomach in the Al-Amarat neighborhood in central Khartoum last month before renting an apartment for his family in southeastern Khartoum. He added that they are still waiting for their passports to be issued but do not know how long this will take, explaining that they plan to travel from Port Sudan to Saudi Arabia.
*Thousands Rush to Leave*
The U.S.-Saudi initiative is the first serious attempt to end the fighting that has transformed areas of the Sudanese capital into battlefields and hampered an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian rule after years of turmoil that has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. The Sudanese Forces of Freedom and Change welcomed the Jeddah talks. This coalition is a political alliance leading the transition plan to civilian rule after decades of military dominance.
The UN’s humanitarian coordinator, Griffiths, stated he was in Jeddah to participate in discussions concerning humanitarian issues in Sudan. The RSF released what they claimed was a video of Sudanese army soldiers surrendering. As one of them began to speak, gunfire could be heard in the background. A military source indicated that the men featured in the video were from a military band unit at the presidential palace in Khartoum, where they were taken by the RSF at the start of the fighting last month.
*Port Sudan*
Thousands are attempting to leave the country via Port Sudan, boarding boats to Saudi Arabia or paying for expensive commercial flights from the only functioning airport in Sudan or escaping on evacuation flights. Since the outbreak of fighting, the UN Refugee Agency has recorded over 30,000 crossings into South Sudan, more than 90 percent of whom are South Sudanese nationals. The agency suggests that the actual number could be much higher. Relief agencies fear that this influx of refugees may exacerbate an already severe humanitarian crisis in South Sudan.
The Jeddah talks are part of a U.S.-Saudi initiative, marking the first serious attempt to end the fighting between the army and Rapid Support Forces, which has turned parts of Khartoum into war zones and undermined an internationally supported plan aimed at transitioning to civilian rule following years of unrest and upheavals. The Saudi Foreign Ministry announced that "preliminary talks have begun and will continue in the coming days, hoping to reach an effective and temporary ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid delivery to those in need."
Earlier on Sunday, the Saudi news channel Al-Ikhbariya reported that "the Kingdom has decided to provide humanitarian assistance to Sudan amounting to $100 million." Since its outbreak in mid-April, the battles have resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries, hampered aid supplies, and caused 100,000 refugees to flee the country. Thousands are trying to leave through Port Sudan, boarding boats bound for Saudi Arabia or paying for costly commercial flights to depart from the only operational airport in the country or through evacuation flights.
