(Bloomberg) -- The absence of Sudan’s military from US-brokered talks that began Wednesday is casting a pall on already-fraught efforts to end the north African nation’s ruinous civil war.
The talks for now only include the Rapid Support Forces militia as well as regional and international players. They are still being held in Switzerland, a spokesperson of the US Mission to the United Nations in Geneva said.
The Sudanese Armed Forces is avoiding the latest talks because they’re irked that representatives from the United Arab Emirates are present, two Western officials briefed on the negotiations said. The military is also concerned by the lack of preparation going into the meeting, with efforts still largely focused on humanitarian access only, they said.
The US is still optimistic that it can convince army officials to come to Switzerland, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media. A message seeking comment was sent to the UAE’s foreign ministry. Abu Dhabi has said it supports all efforts to resolve the conflict.
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The talks are the latest in a frenetic international push to halt what the United Nations has described as the world’s biggest displacement crisis. Fighting between the military and RSF have been ongoing since April 2023, and has left 150,000 dead and millions more displaced.
Further muddying the efforts to broker a cease-fire is the role of regional players. Sudan’s military maintains that the UAE is supporting the RSF militia. Iran has also been accused of providing backing to the military, turning the impoverished nation into another stage where regional power politics is being played out.
The US sent Michael Hammer, its special envoy for the Horn of Africa, to the talks. Hammer was instrumental in forging a peace deal between the Ethiopian government and dissidents from the Tigray region in 2022, shuttling key officials between Ethiopia and South Africa.
“The RSF have arrived in Geneva,” said Tom Perriello, US Special Envoy for Sudan, in a statement on Tuesday. “We can do more together if the Sudanese Armed Forces sends a delegation.”
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