Switzerland No ceasefire in Sudan, but more humanitarian aid

Efforts by the USA to bring an end to the fighting in Sudan have failed for the time being. However, humanitarian aid for the suffering population has at least been improved in some areas. With a view to a ceasefire, more progress would have been desirable, admitted the US Special Representative for Sudan, Tom Perriello.

The aim of the talks was to persuade the government troops (SAF) and the militias (RSF) to agree to a ceasefire in order to improve humanitarian aid. However, the SAF stayed away from the meeting. It was mainly technical experts who discussed aid options.

The RSF did send a delegation. On the ground, however, the fighting not only continued but escalated, including in the El Fascher region in North Darfur. More than 100 civilians lost their lives, as Perriello wrote on X.

Bloody power struggle

Government troops and militias have been engaged in a bloody power struggle in the resource-rich country since April 2023. More than ten million people have been displaced. According to the World Food Program (WFP), 25 million people, more than half of the entire population, are acutely threatened by hunger.

There are now also outbreaks of cholera, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The life-threatening diarrheal disease is caused by a bacterium that spreads via contaminated water and in unhygienic conditions.

One border crossing to Chad opened

Perriello cited the opening of a border crossing with Chad as one of the results of the talks. According to the UN emergency aid office Ocha, 15 trucks with relief supplies and seeds have since entered the country via Adre in Chad. He hopes that hundreds more trucks will follow, said Perriello. There are agreements for the expansion of aid deliveries via at least two other routes: Port Sudan and Sennar in the south of the country.

The SAF and the RSF are accused of serious human rights violations, including sexual violence. At least the RSF militias have agreed to a code of conduct with minimum standards to which all soldiers should be bound, said Perriello.

SDA