UPDATE – Sudan’s army returns to Saudi Arabia for cease-fire talks with paramilitary RSF

UPDATED WITH RSF COMMENT

By Behram Abdelmunim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Representatives of Sudan’s army arrived in Saudi Arabia to resume cease-fire talks with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, according to a Sudanese diplomatic source on Sunday.

"The army delegation returned to Jeddah city late Saturday to resume negotiations with the RSF," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Anadolu.

“The success of the negotiations depends on the seriousness of the RSF and their commitment to the terms” of the agreement, the source said.

The Sudanese army suspended its participation in the cease-fire talks mediated by Saudi and US negotiators late May in protest of what it called the RSF violation of the cease-fire deal.

The RSF, for its part, said it is ready to negotiate with the army to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in Sudan.

“We have the political will to resume the negotiations to end the suffering of civilians," a source with the paramilitary group told Anadolu.

Sudan has been ravaged by clashes between the army and the RSF since April, in a conflict that has killed some 3,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medics.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the warring rivals have failed to end the violence.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that nearly 3 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Sudan.

Last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the ongoing conflict in Sudan may lead to a full-scale civil war.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi