US officially disbands Sudan peace negotiations

WASHINGTON (CN) — The U.S. has officially disbanded negotiations in Saudi Arabia that sought to bring an end to the crisis in Sudan, a senior State Department official testified to Congress.

Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Thursday that although the talks generated a smattering of tenuous ceasefires, they were not bringing an end to the conflict.

“The format is not succeeding in the way that we want,” she said. 

Sudan's Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary have been at war since April 15 in a power struggle that derailed a Western-brokered transition to democracy and civilian rule and threatens to destabilize the region.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia were coordinating negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but the Sudanese army pulled out of the process on May 31. The talks were still open until Wednesday. 

The conflict has wrought destruction on the capital of Khartoum and triggered widespread violence in Darfur, displacing more than 2.5 million people. Refugees are already putting a humanitarian strain on surrounding countries, particularly South Sudan.

Heavy fighting was reported Wednesday as the latest weak ceasefire expired.

Representative Young Kim, a California Republican, said the U.S. must retain a strong role in dealing with the crisis, portraying it as an opening for Russia to gain a foothold in the region. 

The Russian Wagner Group private military company has a facility in the country close to the fighting and has been accused of backing the RSF. Kim said the RSF is willing to open Port Sudan to the Russians if it prevails.

“Without the U.S. leadership on the Sudan crisis, the humanitarian crisis will worsen and Moscow will emerge as the victor,” she said.

Phee said the State Department has been partnering with Saudi Arabia to bring the warring factions to negotiations. She said the U.S. is also in constant contact with civilians inside and outside the country to determine a process for transitioning to democracy. 

“As the security forces have demonstrated, they have no right to have any role in governance,” she said. 

The International Crisis Group, a nongovernmental think tank, warned Thursday that Sudan is fast careening into a failed state. It said Army General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan, known as Hemedti, see the conflict as “a fight for survival.” 

The organization urged international and regional governments to step up their efforts to end the conflict.

“It is hard to overstate the damage a drawn-out conflict in Sudan could do,” the group said. “Such a war would likely splinter the country, devastating the population, while creating a haven for jihadist militants, mercenaries and traffickers who in turn could bedevil the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Mediterranean and Red Sea basins for years to come.”

Follow @TheNolanStout

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit