Sudan Has Reached 'Catastrophic Breaking Point': UN
NewsweekAug 25
Sudan to Send Delegation to Cairo for Peace Talks
Above: Sudanese rebel groups. Image copyright: Scott Barbour/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Sudan has announced that it will send negotiators to Cairo to meet US and Egyptian officials, which could lead to its attending peace talks in Geneva alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rebel group.
The Transitional Sovereign Council, currently ruling Sudan, has said that their participation in the peace talks is contingent on the RSF upholding the "Jeddah Agreement," a cease-fire deal that stipulated the RSF leave civilian areas.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
These are promising signs that one of the world's costliest ongoing conflicts is inching towards a peaceful resolution. The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is reaching staggering proportions, and the RSF and SAF must come to the table under an international framework. The US and many other nations are coming together to force the two sides to the table, but all must unite to sustain this pressure. Months of secret negotiations are finally coming to fruition.
Establishment-critical narrative
There's a good reason the talks over Sudan have failed in spite of the dire situation faced by the civilian population. Those involved in the peace process, from the Saudis to the Emiratis to the Americans, have a vested interest in the outcome of the conflict and aren't coming to the table with the purest of intentions. There will be no hope for the Geneva talks unless the UN gets those with a geopolitical interest in the conflict to abstain from these mediations.