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First time meet-n-greet for Sudan's rival military factions
The warring rival military groups in Sudan have come to an agreement to conduct face-to-face talks to find a resolution for their differences and to ensure the safe delivery of aid to the affected regions. The capital city of Khartoum has been severely affected by the three-week-long conflict resulting in numerous civilian casualties. The US and Saudi Arabia are organizing the "pre-negotiation" talks, scheduled to take place in Jeddah on Saturday.
The upcoming talks between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will be the first in-person meeting since they began competing for control in mid-April. In preparation for the negotiations, both groups have agreed to a ceasefire that commenced on Thursday. The US and Saudi Arabia have been encouraging the rival military factions to resolve their differences and anticipate that the talks will bring an end to the power struggle over who governs the resource-rich Sudan. The RSF's seizure of the presidential palace, state TV station, army chief's residence, and Khartoum International Airport on April 15 marked the tipping point of the conflict.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sudan’s Warring Military Factions To Meet Face-To-Face For First Time Since Conflict Began.<br>The rival military factions fighting for control in Sudan are to hold face-to-face talks for the first time since fighting began last month. <a href="https://t.co/Za1XPL3dCP">https://t.co/Za1XPL3dCP</a> <a href="https://t.co/KXBoKcjBjR">pic.twitter.com/KXBoKcjBjR</a></p>— 254 News Updates (@254newsupdates) <a href="https://twitter.com/254newsupdates/status/1655058652011569152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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In 2019, Sudanese Army Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo were previously allied and had jointly overthrown long-time leader Omar al-Bashir. However, in 2021, their groups began to struggle for dominance. As a result, since April, more than 500 people have been killed, and about 4,500 others have been injured in the conflict, although the actual figures may be higher. Over 100,000 individuals have fled the country, and those who remain in the midst of the fighting report a shortage of food and water.
Mohamed Gibreel Adam, who resides in El Fasher in Darfur and coordinates for MSF, stated that there is an absence of basic necessities such as water, electricity, and a market. Furthermore, he noted that all humanitarian organizations, especially the international community, have left, leaving the people of Sudan in a dire and critical situation, with fear, lack of protection, and a sense of hopelessness.
Despite previous negotiations that were unsuccessful, the US and Saudi Arabia are optimistic that the face-to-face talks between the rival military groups will result in a positive outcome. The international community has been closely monitoring the situation in Sudan and is hoping that the warring military factions will reach a peaceful resolution that will restore stability to the country.
