During trips to Rwanda and Angola on Monday, Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan reaffirmed his commitment to a stalled peace pact with opposing paramilitary forces, while U.S.-backed attempts to revive the agreement failed.
Sudan’s ambassador to Rwanda stated that Al-Burhan assured Paul Kagame of his commitment to the Jeddah Declaration, which was signed in May 2023.
The agreement, which was mediated by the US and Saudi Arabia, called for the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to leave cities and for there to be a ceasefire.
Fighting has persisted in Khartoum and other areas of Sudan, meanwhile, and the parties were unable to reach a consensus on the army’s participation in the internationally backed peace negotiations in Geneva, which were set to take place on Monday.
In a statement, the ruling Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan reported that al-Burhan also met with President João Lourenço of Angola in Luanda, where he accused the RSF of being responsible for the failure to carry out the Jeddah agreement.
The RSF greeted the proposed Geneva talks with open arms, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also referred to as Hemedti. Hemedti expressed hope for peace and stated that the RSF was attending the negotiations “with a complete will” in a televised speech.
Since the fighting in Sudan broke out in April, millions of people have been displaced and thousands of people have died, creating a serious humanitarian crisis.