Beijing, 8 May (Xinhua) -- The two sides to the conflict in Sudan continued to hold "indirect talks," also known as "pre-negotiation dialogue," in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea on 7 May, with a view to achieving a short-term but effective humanitarian ceasefire and opening aid and evacuation channels.
This Sudanese civil conflict has entered its fourth week, and the capital Khartoum still has fierce gunfights and air strikes on the 7th. A real ceasefire is still far away.
There are goals in the short term and no consensus in the long term
According to Agence France-Presse, since the start of the dialogue on the 6th, the two sides of the conflict have disclosed little to the outside world on the content of the dialogue, focusing on short-term goals.
Sudanese military spokesman Nabil Abdullah said the dialogue should discuss how to "properly implement the ceasefire to serve humanitarian needs." The leader of Sudan's Rapid Support Force, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, said on social media Twitter that he welcomed "technical discussions" and hoped that the dialogue would achieve its goal of ensuring the safe evacuation of civilians.
According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the two sides to the conflict in Sudan will continue their "pre-negotiation dialogue" in the coming days, "looking forward to a short-term, effective ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian assistance." Saudi Arabia and the United States jointly urge both parties to the conflict to use this opportunity to agree on a date for follow-up "expanded negotiations" with a view to achieving a "permanent" ceasefire.
This is a street scene photographed in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 18. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Mohammed Haider)
League of Arab States Secretary-General Ahmed Ali Abu Gheit supported the use of "indirect negotiations" to prevent the escalation of existing conflicts and prolong wars, and "divide Sudan into different warring areas."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Samaih Hassan Shoukeri said at the same Arab League Council meeting on the same day that the situation in Sudan could "slide in a worse and more dangerous" direction, which would affect the entire region.
Reuters said that judging from the situation on the battlefield, the two sides still have no intention of making concessions on ending the conflict.
This is a street scene photographed in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 18. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Mohammed Haider)
In the Alhaji Yusuf district in northeastern Khartoum, resident Ahmed Amin said on the 7th that he "saw fighter jets flying over our heads and heard explosions and anti-aircraft fire."
Some analysts are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for a ceasefire. Ali Virgi, an expert on Sudan at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said: "The least common demand of the international community is a cessation of hostilities. However, once this initial goal has been achieved, there is no clear consensus on what to do next. ”
Access needs to ensure that people want safety
Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, arrived in Jeddah on the 7th to prepare to engage with both sides of the Sudanese conflict on humanitarian issues.
Griffiths said last week in the Red Sea coastal city of Port Sudan that the U.N. World Food Programme had told him that six trucks carrying aid to Sudan's Darfur region had been "ransacked en route." He called on both parties to the conflict to make a clear commitment to provide security for the delivery and distribution of humanitarian supplies.
According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have so far fled Sudan to neighboring countries such as Egypt, South Sudan and Chad. Of these, Egypt hosts more than 60,000 refugees. Those who cannot flee face shortages of water, food, medicine and other livelihoods.
On 28 April, Palestinian citizens evacuated from the Sudan arrived in Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Rizek Abdul Javad)
The United Nations says that before the conflict began, one-third of Sudan's population needed humanitarian assistance. If the fighting continues, the number of people facing severe food insecurity in Sudan could increase by between 2 million and 2.5 million.
Thousands of people have fled Sudan to Ethiopia, most of them third-country citizens. In the Ethiopian border town of Mitema, women carrying babies and donkey carts carrying luggage converge at a busy and dusty intersection.
On 4 May, Nigerian citizens evacuated from the Sudan were about to arrive in Abuja. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Adrakoon)
Salam Kanhush, a Syrian refugee, said: "This is the second time I have fled because of the war. ”
"It is important to stay alive," Sarah, an Eritrean refugee, told AFP, "and we can't imagine what the home that stays in Sudan will become." ”
Mohammed Yusuf, a Sudanese refugee, said there were "gunfights everywhere" and "I felt like I could die at any moment."
On May 2, in the southern Egyptian province of Aswan, staff prepare supplies for refugees fleeing Sudan into Egypt (mobile phone photo). Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Radwan)
At Port Sudan Airport, the only operating airport in Sudan, Manashil Salah, a 28-year-old laboratory doctor, boarded an evacuation flight to the United Arab Emirates and told Reuters that she and her family had finally had a chance to escape to Port Sudan after three days hiding in their home near the military headquarters compound in Khartoum.
"Yes, I am glad to have survived," she said, "but I am very sad because my parents are still in Sudan." (Hu Ruoyu)