US Secretary of State Blinken travels to Saudi Arabia in push for Sudan peace talks

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to arrive in Saudi Arabia today, Tuesday, for talks on global security and economic issues, as the conflict in Sudan enters its eighth week.

Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan visits the troops in Khartoum, Sudan, on May 30, 2023 © AP

Blinken will “discuss US-Saudi strategic cooperation on regional and global issues and a range of bilateral issues including economic and security cooperation”, the State Department said in a statement.

The talks are also likely to include new discussions on Sudan.

The five-day extension of the US- and Saudi-brokered truce formally expired on Saturday evening in Sudan.  

Unsuccessful talks

The Sudanese army had previously withdrawn from the talks set in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday last week. A day later, the US-Saudi mediators declared them officially suspended.

Washington wants to resume the talks, but only  if all parties are "serious" about the ceasefire.

Representatives of Sudan's regular army (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) came back to Jeddah again, the Saudi foreign ministry said, and remain in the city, despite the collapse of ceasefire talks.

The Saudi and US mediators again called for the parties to agree to and effectively implement a new ceasefire, with the "aim of building to a permanent cessation of hostilities", Riyadh added.

The main goal is to allow humanitarian aid and safe passage into areas of Sudan ravaged by the fighting.   

The United States on Thursday slapped sanctions on both warring parties, holding them both responsible for provoking "appalling" bloodshed.

• US announces sanctions over 'appalling' violence in Sudan

Mounting humanitarian needs

Meanwhile, more than 1,800 people have been killed in the past seven weeks of fighting, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

To date, 1.2 million people have been displaced within Sudan, according to the UN, while more than 425,000 have fled abroad.

Overall, some 25 million people are now in need of aid and protection, which is more than half Sudan's population.  

• Ceasefire ends in Sudan with fresh fighting and no route for aid

The fighting erupted on 15 April in the Sudanese capital between the army led by de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF commanded by his deputy-turned-rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. 

 (with newswires)