Sudan government agrees to send delegation to Cairo

PORT SUDAN, Sudan: Sudan´s army-aligned government said on Sunday it would send a delegation to Cairo to discuss implementing a previous humanitarian deal, despite boycotting ongoing talks in Switzerland seeking to end the army´s 16-month war with paramilitaries.

The United States is currently brokering ceasefire talks in an undisclosed location in Switzerland, which the army´s adversaries the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are attending, but the army has shunned.

War has raged since April 2023 between the army, under the country´s de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, which is commanded by Burhan´s former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

Sudan´s ruling Transitional Sovereignty Council said in a statement that the delegation in Cairo would discuss “the government´s vision for implementing the Jeddah Agreement”, which was negotiated last year in a bid to protect civilians.

Though fighting has continued unabated, the warring parties had agreed in May 2023 during talks in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah to respect humanitarian principles and allow in badly needed aid.

The decision came “based on communication with the American government, represented by US envoy to Sudan Tom Perriello, and communication with the Egyptian government requesting a meeting with a government delegation in Cairo,” it added.