After about two weeks of heavy fighting and failed ceasefires, Sudan is taking a first step towards containing the violence. The leaders of the two warring military factions, army chief Abd al-Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo (known as "Hemeti"), have agreed to send representatives to negotiate, the United Nations special envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, said on Monday. These talks could take place in South Sudan or Saudi Arabia – the Arab supremacy on the opposite side of the Red Sea has supported the military in Sudan in the past, without clearly taking sides in the current conflict.

Christian Meier

Political correspondent for the Middle East and Northeast Africa.

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Perthes told the AP news agency that talks between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) should focus on achieving a "stable and reliable" ceasefire. However, the German head of the UN mission for Sudan, UNITAMS, warned against expecting too much – the organisation of the journey to such a meeting alone would be full of challenges "in a situation in which there is no trust".

Beyond such diplomatic attempts, there has been no easing of tensions so far, neither militarily nor rhetorically. Army chief al-Burhan had said on Friday that he would never sit down with the "rebel" Hamdan. He said on Monday that he would either hand over al-Burhan to the judiciary – "or to the cemetery". Meanwhile, new fighting was reported from Khartoum and other parts of the country. Once again, a declared ceasefire did not hold. It was only on Sunday evening that both sides agreed to extend a ceasefire that has been in force since Friday by 72 hours.

Artillery fire and detonations in Khartoum

However, the attempt to provide help and escape to civilians suffering from the fighting had also largely failed. Over the weekend there were skirmishes in Khartoum and other places. Heavy artillery fire and detonations were reported from the capital. However, the fighting in some parts of the city subsided so much that shops were able to open.

There was still no sign of a military solution to the power-political conflict between the army and the RSF, which had turned into open violence on 15 April. On the contrary, the conflict is spreading. According to media reports, fighting took place in twelve of Sudan's eighteen states. Especially in Darfur in the west of the country, there was massive violence and riots. In El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, numerous people are said to have been killed.

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok warned over the weekend that the conflict could degenerate into one of the world's worst civil wars. "God forbid Sudan reaches the point of a real civil war. Syria, Yemen, Libya, on the other hand, would be children's stuff," he said at an event in Kenya's capital Nairobi, according to media reports.

Hamdok was ousted in October 2021 by al-Burhan and Hamdan, when they were still allies in the struggle between military and civilian forces in Sudan. Since then, there has been an estrangement between the army chief and de facto head of state, al-Burhan, and his deputy, Hamdan. A dispute over the planned incorporation of the paramilitary RSF into the army, which would have meant a weakening of Hamdan, finally led to the violent outbreak of the conflict.

Many places inaccessible to helpers

Since then, according to official figures, the fighting has claimed about 530 lives and about 4500 people have been wounded. The actual number is likely to be much higher. In Khartoum, where the fighting is taking place in the middle of residential areas, many places are inaccessible to aid workers. Many health facilities have also been damaged or are suffering from the failure of water and electricity supply. According to the World Health Organization, only 16 percent of hospitals in Khartoum are currently working. In the country as a whole, it is said to be less than a third.

On Sunday, a plane carrying eight tons of medical supplies landed in Port Sudan. More than 1000,<> wounded could be cared for, said a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. A positive signal also came from the World Food Programme: The UN agency announced on Monday that it was resuming work in Sudan. It had been suspended two weeks ago after three of its staff were killed in the fighting.

According to UN figures, about 75,000 people have already fled the fighting in the country. More than 20,000 have reached Chad's western neighbour, while Egypt reported 40,000 refugees from Sudan in the north. Many of those who are now fleeing the fighting were previously refugees from other countries who had found refuge in Sudan.

About 40,000 refugees from South Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, who were in Khartoum, fled the fighting there. Many of them were temporarily accommodated in camps in the south-east of the country. Meanwhile, more citizens, mainly from Western countries, have been brought to safety from the fighting in Sudan.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths to Nairobi. He described the situation in Sudan on Monday as "catastrophic". In addition to the supply situation, Griffiths cited "massive looting" of aid supplies as a challenge for international emergency aid.