The talks in Switzerland were not about a political solution to the power struggle in Sudan, only about a ceasefire to enable more humanitarian aid. The success has been poor.
US efforts to end the fighting in Sudan have failed in Switzerland for the time being. However, humanitarian aid for the suffering population has at least been improved in some areas. More progress would have been desirable with a view to a ceasefire, admitted the US Special Representative for Sudan, Tom Perriello.
The aim of the talks was to persuade the government troops (SAF) and the militias (RSF) to agree to a ceasefire in order to improve humanitarian aid. However, the SAF did not attend the meeting. Instead, it was mainly technical experts who spoke about possible aid options.
The RSF did send a delegation. But on the ground, the fighting not only continued, but escalated, including in the El Fasher region of North Darfur. More than 100 civilians were killed, as Perriello wrote on X.
Bloody power struggle
In the resource-rich country, government troops and militias have been engaged in a bloody power struggle since April 2023. More than ten million people have been displaced. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), 25 million people, more than half of the entire population, are at acute risk of hunger.
There are now also outbreaks of cholera, as the World Health Organization (WHO) reports. The life-threatening diarrheal disease is caused by a bacterium that spreads through contaminated water and under unhygienic conditions.
A border crossing to Chad opened
Perriello said the opening of a border crossing with Chad was one of the results of the talks. According to the UN emergency relief office Ocha, 15 trucks carrying relief supplies and seeds have since entered the country via Adre in Chad. He hopes that hundreds more trucks will follow, said Perriello. There are agreements to expand aid deliveries via at least two other routes: Port Sudan and Sennar in the south of the country.
The SAF and the RSF are accused of serious human rights violations, including sexual violence. At least the RSF militias have agreed to a code of conduct with minimum standards to which all soldiers are bound, said Perriello.
Source: Stern
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