Global Courant
ISTANBUL
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday urged Sudan’s warring rivals to halt any military escalation and seek a political solution to the Sudanese conflict.
This came in separate phone calls by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan with Sudan’s chief of staff, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group known as Hemedti.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the latest developments in Sudan were discussed during talks between the senior Saudi diplomat and rival generals.
The Saudi minister underscored the importance of the commitment of all Sudanese parties to “restore humanitarian work, protect civilians and aid workers, and secure humanitarian corridors for the delivery of essential aid.”
Bin Farhan reiterated Saudi Arabia’s call to “calm, prioritize national interests, cease any military escalation, and seek a political solution that guarantees the return of security and stability to Sudan.”
The phone calls came as the 72-hour truce, in which Saudi and US mediators mediated between the two rivals, ended Tuesday.
Sudan has been devastated by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, which has killed nearly 1,000 civilians and injured 5,000, according to local medics.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 2.2 million people have been displaced due to the current conflict in Sudan.
Sudan has not had a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency. The move was widely denounced as a “coup” by political forces.
The transition period, which began in August 2019 following the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, was originally scheduled to result in elections in early 2024.
*The article written by İkram Kouachi in Ankara
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