Sudan halts talk with rival forces

Chaos ensues amid conflicts

People line up in front of a bakery during a cease-fire on Saturday in Khartoum. Saudi Arabia and the United States say the warring parties in Sudan are adhering better to a week-long cease-fire after days of fighting. (AP/Marwan Ali)
People line up in front of a bakery during a cease-fire on Saturday in Khartoum. Saudi Arabia and the United States say the warring parties in Sudan are adhering better to a week-long cease-fire after days of fighting. (AP/Marwan Ali)

CAIRO -- Sudan's military suspended its participation in talks with a paramilitary force it's been battling for weeks for control of the northeastern African country, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

The development was a blow to the United States and Saudi Arabia, who have been mediating between the two sides. The conflict has plunged Sudan into chaos.

Brig. Nabil Abdalla, a spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces, told The Associated Press that the move is a protest against the Rapid Support Forces' "repeated violations" of the humanitarian cease-fire, including their continued occupation of hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in the capital, Khartoum.

Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted in mid-April between the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting has killed at least 866 civilians and wounded thousands more, according to the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. The toll could be much higher, the medical group had previously said.

Abdalla, the spokesman, said the military wants to ensure that the terms of a U.S.-Saudi-brokered truce "be fully implemented" before discussing further steps. He did not elaborate.

On May 21, both sides signed a cease-fire agreement allowing for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the restoration of essential services destroyed in the clashes. They also agreed to stop the looting of residential properties and humanitarian aid, as well as the taking over of civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and power plants.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia or the United States. So far, there have been seven declared cease-fires, all of which have been violated to some extent.

Responding to the military's move, the Rapid Support Forces said it "unconditionally backs the Saudi-U.S. initiative."

Two other senior military officials said the army sent a letter to the Saudi and American mediators detailing what they called the Rapid Support Forces violations. They said the military delegation was still in the venue of the talks in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.

One of the officials said the decision was prompted by the mediators' efforts to move to the next stage of negotiations without "fully implementing the terms" of the humanitarian cease-fire. That stage includes a long-term cease-fire and engaging in negotiations to settle the disputes between the two sides, he said.

Both senior officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

In a relatively rare move, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres asked to brief the Security Council privately Wednesday afternoon about "the dramatic situation in Sudan," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres's move came less then a week after Burhan demanded in a letter Friday to the secretary general that the U.N. envoy to Sudan be removed. The U.N. chief was "shocked" by the letter.

Information for this article was contributed by Edith M. Lederer of The Associated Press.

Upcoming Events