By MAWAHIB ABDALLATIF

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Sudan’s army chief has indicated he may send representatives to the new, US-led talks, in Switzerland due next week, if civilians are supplied with humanitarian aid.

This week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken phoned the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, about the planned peace talks due on August 14, but which parties -- Sudan’s army and rivals Rapid Support Forces -- have been noncommittal about attending.  

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday Blinken urged the Sudanese Armed Forces to participate in the ceasefire talks in Geneva.

The US, which had already pushed for talks via Saudi Arabia under the Jeddah Process, says Sudan needs to prevent famine and restore the civilian political process.

But General Burhan wants assurances. In his statements via his X account he said: “I received a call from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and we discussed the necessity of addressing the Sudanese government's concerns before starting any negotiations. I informed him that the rebel militia is besieging and attacking El Fasher and preventing food supplies from reaching the displaced people in Zamzam camp.”

Zamzam camp in El Fasher in northern Darfur was already reporting famine, according to a situational report by  UN agencies working in Sudan

His rivals, RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, agreed to participate in the Geneva negotiations.

Blinken had made calls with his counterparts in Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, discussing, among other things, preparations for the upcoming Geneva dialogue.

A speech by the army commander in Jebait on July 31 raised concerns that he might not participate in the Geneva negotiations. Burhan addressed international and regional communities, outlining his conditions for participating in the Swiss forum.

The general recently survived an assassination attempt in Jebait, about 100 kilometres from Port Sudan. A drone attack blamed on the RSF resulted in the death of five security officers.

In a brief statement, the Sudanese army spokesperson said, "Ground defences intercepted two hostile drones targeting the site of a graduation ceremony for batches of military, air, and naval academies.”

Half an hour after the attack, Burhan stated: "The Sudanese army will not negotiate with the Rapid Support Forces, does not fear drones or death, and will continue to fight." 

"We will not lay down our arms until the country is cleansed of any rebel and mercenary. We are determined to crush the militia and eliminate it. Our battle with the enemy continues, and we will not retreat or surrender, nor will we negotiate with anyone, no matter who they are."

The official spokesperson for the US Department of State referred to Burhan as the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, although Washington had treated him solely as the army commander since the October 25, 2021 coup, in which he toppled the transitional government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

The US mediation insists that both the SAF and RSF attend the negotiations in Geneva, as these talks concern the ceasefire and the passage of humanitarian aid across borders and conflict lines, without addressing any political issues.

In a gesture of goodwill, US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Breliou announced that the Geneva negotiations would build on what was previously agreed upon between the warring parties in Jeddah and the Bahraini capital, Manama.

This move is seen as a response to the army leadership's insistence that Jeddah be the sole forum for negotiations, with the Geneva talks continuing from where the Jeddah agreements left off. It also takes into account the Port Sudan government's condition that the RSF vacate citizens' homes and civilian property before engaging in new negotiations. 

The US demands that both parties implement all the provisions of the Jeddah agreement, not just those related to vacating civilian property, to include opening humanitarian corridors, activating the joint committee established for this purpose, and silencing the voices that fuel the war. This also includes re-arresting prisoners, in a clear reference to Islamists and former regime leaders who support the army.