Ahead of Peace Talks, Fighting Escalates in Khartoum
Fighting has continued to rage in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, ahead of joint Saudi-US mediated peace talks in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah.
Chaos has engulfed much of the East African nation since the conflict between two powerful rival armies broke out on April 15. More than 600 civilians have been killed and thousands more injured. Khartoum has been reduced to an urban battlefield, and deadly tribal clashes rock the western Darfur region.
The Sudanese army, under Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is at war with the rival Rapid Support Forces militia, under Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The RSF emerged in 2013 from the notorious Janjaweed militia, accused of ethnic cleansing of non-Arab minorities in the Darfur region.
Despite multiple attempts at short-term cease-fires since the onset of the conflict, all have been breached, with the latest flare-up erupting on Sunday. Human rights organizations have accused the RSF of looting and attacking civilians, and the military of indiscriminately bombing residential areas. Both sides also blame each other for human rights violations.
A humanitarian crisis of monumental proportions appears imminent. The United Nations World Food Program estimates that 19 million people, some 41% of the population, could soon face hunger if the conflict is not resolved.
Last Thursday, a pact was signed between the military and the RSF aiming to ensure the safe movement of civilians escaping the conflict and safeguard humanitarian operations. Saudi Arabia and the United States are taking the lead in international efforts to transform this agreement into a sustainable cease-fire, and talks are reportedly scheduled to resume this Sunday.
