Sudan paramilitary leader to attend cease-fire talks in Switzerland hosted by US, KSA

Sudan's paramilitary leader has announced plans to attend cease-fire talks in Switzerland next month arranged by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces fighting Sudan's army, expressed hope on social media late Tuesday that the talks would become "a major step" toward peace and stability in Sudan and create a new state based on "justice, equality and federal rule."

"We share with the international community the goal of achieving a full cease-fire across the country and facilitating humanitarian access to everyone in need," he said on X, formerly called Twitter,

The talks are expected to begin Aug. 14 at an as-yet unspecified location in Switzerland.

The office of the spokesperson for the Sudanese army, which is led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, told The Associated Press that no decision has been made on whether it will send a delegation to the talks.

The U.S. State Department said the talks will aim to build on discussions between the two sides that broke down late last year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

It said the African Union, Sudan's neighbor Egypt, the United Arab Emirates — which has been accused of supporting Dagalo's forces with weapons, a claim UAE officials have denied — and the United Nations would act as observers.

"The talks in Switzerland aim to reach a nationwide cessation of violence, enabling humanitarian access to all those in need, and develop a robust monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure implementation of any agreement," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement Tuesday announcing the talks.

"These talks do not aim to address broader political issues," he added.

Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions including Darfur. The U.N. says over 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. Rights activists say the toll could be much higher.

The war has also created the world's largest displacement crisis with over 11 million people forced to flee their homes, as well as allegations of rampant sexual violence and possible crimes against humanity. International experts recently warned that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months.

Valentin Clivaz, a spokesperson for the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs, said in an email that Switzerland would co-host the talks and "hails all efforts aiming to resolve the conflict through negotiation."

Last week, the U.N. secretary-general's envoy for Sudan hosted a series of indirect talks in Geneva between the two sides centering on issues of humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians across Sudan.