Saudi Arabia calls for calm in Sudan in phone calls with rival generals

72-hour cease-fire between Sudan’s warring rivals set to expire later Tuesday

By Hussameldin Mohamed

ISTANBUL (AA) - Saudi Arabia called on Sudan’s warring rivals on Tuesday to halt all forms of military escalation and reach a political solution to the Sudanese conflict.

This came in separate phone calls Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made with Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

Talks between the top Saudi diplomat and the rival generals dwelt on the latest developments in Sudan, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Saudi minister underlined the importance of all Sudanese sides “to commit to restoring humanitarian work, protecting civilians and relief workers, and ensuring the safety of humanitarian corridors for basic assistance to be delivered,” the statement said.

Bin Farhan renewed the Saudi call “for calm, giving priority to the national interest, stopping all forms of military escalation and resorting to a political solution that guarantees the return of security and stability to Sudan.”

The phone calls come as a 72-hour cease-fire brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the two rivals is set to expire later Tuesday.

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, in a conflict that killed nearly 1,000 civilians and injured 5,000 others, according to local medics.

More than 2.2 million people have been displaced by the current conflict in Sudan, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency, Sudan has been without a functioning government. The move was widely condemned by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which began in August 2019 following the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, was originally scheduled to conclude with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara

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