Sudan talks close with progress on two safe aid routes but not on ceasefire

RFI

24 August 2024 at 6:22 am·1-min read

US-led mediators say they have secured guarantees from Sudan's warring parties at talks in Switzerland to improve access for humanitarian aid, but the Sudanese army's absence from the discussions has hindered progress on ending 16 months of war.

Over 10 days of talks in Geneva, a new group of mediators including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates tried to negotiate more aid and protection for civilians facing famine, mass displacement and spreading disease after 16 months of war between the army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries.

At the end of talks on Friday, the mediators, calling themselves the Aligned for Advancing Lifesaving and Peace in Sudan (ALPS) Group, said they had "secured guarantees from both parties to the conflict to provide safe and unhindered humanitarian access through two key arteries – the Western border crossing in Darfur at Adre and the Dabbah Road with access through the north and west from Port Sudan".

Aid trucks were driving towards the Zamzam displacement camp in Darfur, where famine has been declared, it added. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said 15 trucks had made it over the border.

The mediators said they were also making progress on opening an access route through the Sennar junction in the southeast.

(with newswires)

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