Jeddah Platform News Today

Dr. Annette Weber, European Union Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa, said that 24 percent of the population in Sudan has entered the stage of famine, warning that the country will slide into a Syrian or Somali scenario if talks are not resumed. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Weber revealed that the European Union is currently preparing a new set of sanctions against individuals, after it had imposed sanctions on some parties to the conflict last year.

Several Sudanese political, civil society and social groups have condemned an airstrike by the Sudanese Air Force last Thursday night in the Mellit area of North Darfur State.

In his announcement the day before yesterday that the Jeddah Platform negotiations to end the Sudanese war could resume on April 18th, the US Special Envoy Tom Perriello said that several recent shifts have increased the likelihood of resolving the conflict. To avoid creating an unwarranted sense of optimism, however, he quickly added that there is no more than a 50 percent chance of success.

Both sides in Sudan's civil war have committed abuses that may amount to war crimes including indiscriminate attacks on civilian sites like hospitals, markets and even camps for the displaced, the UN human rights office said on Friday. Efforts have so far failed to end the 10-month-old conflict that pits Sudan's regular armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Thousands of people have been killed and some six million forced to flee their homes, making it the countr...

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok described the agreement between the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Shams al-Din al-Kabbashi, and Deputy Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Lieutenant General Abdul Rahim Dagalo in Manama last month as a positive step in the right direction. He said the agreement complements the Jeddah Platform talks, which are greatly relied upon to stop the devastating war in Sudan.

Sudan’s Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council Malik Agar asserted on Thursday that the Sudanese military has made significant strides on the battlefield, carrying out precise strikes against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Agar emphasized that there is no talk about any political process under the current artillery shelling and bullet shots, hinting at the ongoing war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since last April.

Sudan renewed on Friday its adoption of the Jeddah Platform as the sole proposal for negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affirmed its categorical rejection of any talks outside of Jeddah. After a joint meeting with the Sovereignty Council in the temporary alternative capital, Port Sudan, the government rejected peace talks outside the Jeddah process, asserting that it is the only platform to "negotiate the war imposed by the rebel militias," referring to the RSF.

On behalf of Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Eng. Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji participated on Friday at the IGAD summit in Uganda. He expressed the Kingdom’s firm position on supporting and strengthening Saudi-African relations in a way that consolidates its relationship with African countries and IGAD member states.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) went from being a group of fighters against the former regime and extremists to an active member in alleviating the humanitarian burdens and ensuring stability. Advisor of RSF commander Ibrahim Mukhair saw that the war imposed a new role, noting that the party had become a necessary partner to secure the political process and establish a modern, civilized Sudan.

The Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) exchanged artillery shelling in the capital’s neighborhoods and the city of Omdurman. Eyewitnesses said that the army carried out intense artillery strikes on the positions of the RSF in the neighborhoods of southern and eastern Khartoum and central Omdurman, noting that violent explosions were heard near the Armored Corps, south of the capital. Army drones also launched strikes on RSF positions south of Khartoum in conjunction with artiller...