On Friday, a senior U.N. official said discussions on a Sudan ceasefire would continue in the next day or two and detailed a change in the warring factions’ posture that could make them more likely to uphold any future arrangement.
Sudan’s military groups agreed late on Thursday to protect people and enable humanitarian relief following a week of talks in Saudi Arabia but fighting continued on Friday.
Volker Perthes, U.N. Special Representative for Sudan, said he had met with one side and was assured of their commitment to keep discussing.
We expect ceasefire discussions to resume today or tomorrow. He told a Geneva press briefing from Port Sudan that negotiating peace terms shouldn’t take long.
Since mid-April, fighting between Sudan’s army and competing paramilitary forces has killed hundreds, wounded thousands, blocked aid, driven refugees overseas, and turned Khartoum’s residential neighborhoods into war zones.
He noted that past ceasefires failed because both sides believed they could win, but he has seen a change in their outlook.
Both parties realize that winning will take time. “And that a protracted war could damage the entire country and leave little to win,” he warned.
“You could lose the country, even if you win the battle.”
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