US envoy meets Sudan army chief in Switzerland to discuss peace proposal

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Keystone-SDA

Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and US envoy for Africa Massad Boulos met in Switzerland to discuss a US peace plan aimed at ending the civil war in Sudan, two Sudanese government sources confirmed on Tuesday.

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Burhan and Boulos held a three-hour meeting on Monday “during which they discussed a proposal submitted by the United States for a comprehensive ceasefire in Sudan and the delivery of humanitarian aid”, a senior government source said.

The conflict that broke out in April 2023 in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people or caused them to flee abroad, and led to what the UN describes as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.

Previous mediation efforts led by the US and Saudi Arabia have not resulted in a ceasefire. Monday’s meeting is the highest-level meeting in months, while Washington appears to be stepping up its diplomatic efforts to impose peace.

+ Impunity is stalling all peace efforts in Sudan. Can it end?

An attempt by the US to rally the external powers considered to have the most influence on both sides, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, had failed due to disagreement between the latter two countries on the role of the army in a transitional peace process.

+ Sudan: everything you need to know about the Geneva negotiations

On Monday, General Burhan “told Boulos that the RSF has no political role in Sudan”, a government source told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity. According to this source, the army chief had received the American plan before travelling to Switzerland and was back in Sudan on Tuesday morning.

There has been no let-up in the fighting on the ground. The army recaptured the capital Khartoum in March, while paramilitaries are stepping up their attacks to seize El Fasher, the only provincial capital in the vast western region of Darfur still outside their control.

Adapted from French by DeepL/sb

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