‘RSF has not been invited to Jeddah talks on Sudan war’

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) say they have not received any invitation to rejoin the Jeddah talks platform so far, while declaring their readiness for peace. Basha Tabig, advisor to the RSF commander, Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, confirmed in an interview with Radio Dabanga yesterday that “the RSF did not withdraw from the Jeddah platform; the party that withdrew is the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

Tabig indicates that the RSF do not reject peace in order to alleviate suffering and pass humanitarian aid, but are ready for war if the army wants to, and added: “The current crowds and preparations by the army and armed movements to confront the RSF contradict the response to peace. The US special envoy for Sudan had earlier announced hopes that the Jeddah platform would kick off after Eid El Fitr, while the Foreign Ministry said in press statements on Monday that the army had not received any invitation to negotiations.

Repel attacks

Regarding the field developments in El Gezira, Basha Tabig told Radio Dabanga that their forces repelled attacks in a number of axes launched by the army, armed movements, and battalions of the Islamic Movement, and that their forces inflicted losses on the attackers in lives and equipment, adding “our forces are advanced in all axes and we will achieve victories over the army”.

US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello has expressed his hope that talks between the SAF and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will resume following the Eid El Fitr that concludes the fasting month of Ramadan today.

Yesterday, Perriello congratulated the Sudanese people on Eid El Fitr, and called on both sides of the conflict to listen to the call of the Sudanese people to stop the fighting.

In an online Q&A briefing on March 21, organised by the US Department of State via its hub in London, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello briefed his audience about the “urgent US efforts for peace and an immediate end to the war and humanitarian crisis in Sudan”.

The recently appointed special envoy who is now in Saudi Arabia, to be followed by a visit to the United Arab Emirates, has already talked with officials in Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Egypt, and with Sudanese activists and politicians.