Talks between a United Nations envoy and delegations from both warring parties in Sudan have proven an encouraging first step, the UN said as the discussions neared a close.
War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese regular army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's personal envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, invited delegations from the army and the RSF for talks in Geneva, focused on humanitarian aid and protecting civilians.
"The personal envoy is encouraged by the willingness of the delegations to engage with him on critical matters related to the situation in Sudan, on which he seeks the necessary cooperation of the warring parties," UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told a press briefing in Geneva on Friday.
Unilateral commitments
"He now counts on the parties to promptly translate their willingness to engage with him into tangible progress on the ground, both in the implementation of existing agreements and through possible unilateral commitments.
"The discussions held in Geneva have been an encouraging initial step in a longer and complex process. The personal envoy will remain in close contact with the leadership of the two warring parties."
Lamamra, who is a former Algerian foreign minister, and his team have held around 20 meetings during the talks.
The discussions have been taking place under the so-called proximity format, with Lamamra meeting separately with each delegation at a time, in different rooms. The two delegations were not scheduled to meet each other.
Humanitarian crisis
The discussions began on July 11 and are set to conclude on Friday.
The two delegations were comprised of senior representatives of the warring parties and included humanitarian, security, and military experts.
The conflict in Sudan has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than 10 million people, according to the UN.
A recent UN-backed report said nearly 26 million people, or slightly more than half of the population, were facing high levels of "acute food insecurity."
The two sides have been routinely accused of war crimes, including indiscriminately shelling residential areas and targeting civilians.
➤ Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel for more stories.
