U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called for »an immediate ceasefire» and »a return to talks» to end the clashes between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have so far left nearly 100 civilians dead, apart from casualties among the fighting forces.
»The people of Sudan want the army to return to the barracks. They want democracy. They want a civilian-led government. Sudan has to get back on that path,» Blinken said from Japan, where he is attending a G7 ministerial meeting, before stressing that the talks could »put Sudan back on the path to a full transition to a civilian-led government».
He explained that there are »very close consultations» on the situation in Sudan and stressed that »there is great concern about the fighting, the violence in Sudan and the threat it poses to civilians, to the Sudanese nation and potentially to the region».
Blinken also called on the army chief, Abdelfatá al Burhan, and the leader of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias ‘Hemedti’, to »ensure the protection of civilians and non-combatants, as well as people from third countries», while stressing that the US Embassy in Khartoum is in contact with the citizens present in the country to »provide as much information as possible».
For his part, the British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, confirmed contacts between London and »friends in the Arab region» to address the crisis and called for »an immediate cessation of violence and a return to talks, which seemed to be moving in the direction of a civilian government, which is the desired ultimate goal».
»We will continue to work with the United States, our close friend, and our friends in Africa and the Arab world to move towards peace and a civilian democracy,» he stressed, while stressing that »the immediate future depends on the generals who are involved in this fighting.»
For this reason, he called on the parties to »put peace above all else, put an end to the fighting and return to negotiations». That is what the Sudanese people want, that is what the Sudanese people deserve and we will continue to look for ways to support that path back to peace», the British Foreign Minister reiterated.
The main civil organizations and political parties in Sudan have demanded in unison during the weekend not only the end of the fighting, but also the end of the »militarization» that has dominated »the public space» in the country for decades and, in particular, since the overthrow four years ago of the dictator Omar Hassan al Bashir after a revolution in which civilians were an instrumental part.
The African country was ruled before the outbreak of fighting by a junta led by Al Burhan, whose ‘number two’ was the military leader of the RSF. Disagreements between the two over paramilitary integration into a future unified army – an agreement prior to the formation of a new civilian-led unity government – eventually degenerated into this conflict.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
