Saudi Arabia, US say Sudan warring sides to start talks

The US and Saudi governments confirmed direct talks between the warring Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces would start in Jeddah on Saturday, even as fighting showed little signs of abating in the Sudanese capital.

A joint US-Saudi statement welcomed the "start of pre-negotiation talks" and urged sustained global support to quell fighting.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States urge both parties to take in consideration the interests of the Sudanese nation and its people and actively engage in the talks toward a ceasefire and end to the conflict," the statement said.

Hundreds have died in nearly three weeks of fighting between forces aligned with Sudan's leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Multiple truces have been reached since the fighting erupted on April 15, but none has been respected.

The army confirmed late Friday it had sent envoys to Saudi Arabia to discuss "details of the truce in the process of being extended" with its paramilitary foes.

Burhan had given his backing to a seven-day ceasefire announced by South Sudan on Wednesday, but early on Friday the RSF said they were extending by three days a previous truce brokered under US-Saudi mediation.

The US-Saudi statement noted the efforts of other countries and organisations behind this weekend's talks, including Britain, the United Arab Emirates, the League of Arab States, the African Union and other groups.

In Khartoum, witnesses reported continued air strikes and explosions on Friday, including near the airport.

The fighting raged despite a threat of sanctions from US President Joe Biden against those responsible for "threatening the peace, security, and stability of Sudan" and "undermining Sudan's democratic transition".

The north African country suffered decades of sanctions during the rule of autocrat Omar al-Bashir, ousted in a palace coup in 2019 following mass street protests.

"The violence taking place in Sudan is a tragedy -- and it is a betrayal of the Sudanese people's clear demand for civilian government and a transition to democracy. It must end," Biden said.

The conflict has killed about 700 people so far, mostly in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

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