(Reuters) – The United States hopes to resume talks to end the conflict in Sudan and open the way for humanitarian access once the month of Ramadan ends in mid-April, Tom Perello, the newly appointed U.S. special envoy for Sudan, said on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia and the United States led talks in Jeddah last year in a bid to reach a truce between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but negotiations have stalled amid rival international peace initiatives.
Perello, who took office late last month, told reporters: “We have to resume formal talks. We hope that will happen once the month of Ramadan is over.”
“Everyone understands that this crisis is heading towards a point of no return, and that means everyone has to put aside their differences and unite to find a solution to this conflict.”
The army and the RSF began fighting in mid-April last year after relations were strained over plans for a political transition and restructuring the army.
The two sides took part in a coup in 2021 that blocked a transition to elections after former President Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a popular uprising two years earlier.
The conflict has driven some 8.5 million people from their homes in what has become the world’s largest displacement crisis, pushing segments of the 49 million people to the brink of famine and leading to waves of ethnically based killings and sexual violence in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
The army, which recently retook some territory in the capital, rejected an appeal by the U.N. Security Council for a ceasefire in Ramadan.
“Every week we wait for without a peace deal makes the prospect of famine longer, and the atrocities that we know are documented continue,” Perello said.
He said the talks could build on efforts in Jeddah, Manama and Cairo and should involve African leaders, regional bodies and Gulf states. “This next round of formal talks should include everyone. But it also has to involve people who are really serious about ending the war.”
Regional powers support for Sudan’s rival factions has exacerbated fears of the country’s rupture and the war spillover beyond its borders.
The UAE and some African parties have backed the RSF, according to U.N. experts, and Perillo was asked what he believed was Iranian support for the military, which includes Islamist factions that became powerful under Bashir.
“We are now heading towards a situation in which the parties involved appear to be increasing, and we can see the return of extremist elements that the Sudanese people have so bravely and over a long period of time eliminated from the region,” he said.
Sudan’s military did not immediately respond to requests for comment on alleged Iranian support.
