UN envoy for Sudan pushes for peace talks amidst escalating crisis

Source: Sudan Tribune

May 29, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) -The UN Secretary-General's personal envoy for Sudan, Ramadan Lamamra, announced that his mission is to encourage Sudanese to resolve the ongoing crisis peacefully.

This announcement followed a meeting on Wednesday with Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council. According to a statement by the Sovereign Council, the meeting focused on the role of the United Nations in addressing the crisis.

Lamamra stated that the United Nations is consulting with all parties to bring viewpoints closer and achieve a peaceful solution. He added that his visit aims to assess the situation on the ground and consult with state officials. He described the meeting with al-Burhan as fruitful and constructive, noting that they reviewed existing issues and received satisfactory answers to their questions.

Referencing statements from the UN Security Council and Secretary-General António Guterres, Lamamra emphasized the need to avoid a humanitarian disaster in El Fasher, North Darfur.

He also mentioned that the meeting touched on ongoing consultations to resume the Jeddah process, stating, "We, as the United Nations, encourage negotiations and hope for their success." He expressed hope for positive contributions from all regional and international partners to ensure a ceasefire and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.

In a separate meeting with Deputy Chairman of the Sovereign Council Malik Agar, Lamamra reiterated calls for a return to negotiations, especially since the Jeddah track has been suspended since October last year. He noted that the situation is becoming more complicated, with the number of displaced people increasing and difficulties in delivering aid.

For his part, Agar downplayed the importance of returning to the Jeddah platform, explaining that an agreement had not yet been implemented. He further questioned the new motivations to resume the process and pointed out that the current political agendas are far from what Sudan needs to end the war.

On the same day, Agar disclosed that al-Burhan had rejected a request by U.S. Secretary of State to resume Jeddah talks.

Alluding to Tagadum founding conference in Addis Ababa, he said that the political activities and international solidarity around it are currently useless. He confirmed that the government is working to end the war and that any political process cannot be discussed under the sound of cannons.

He stressed that what is happening now is merely the ambitions of specific groups seeking power and prolonging the war.