Sudan sends delegation to Geneva to discuss Jeddah Declaration implementation

August 17, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council head Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan said on Saturday a delegation has been sent to Geneva to discuss implementing the Jeddah Declaration, a humanitarian ceasefire agreement signed between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in May 2023.

Burhan told a Sudanese-Egyptian media delegation that during three contacts with the U.S., Sudan insisted on not attending Geneva talks unless the Jeddah Declaration is implemented. He added that the U.S. has agreed to a meeting with an army-led delegation.

“We will send a government delegation to meet them and Saudi Arabia, as sponsors of the Jeddah Declaration, to discuss the steps for its implementation,” Al-Burhan said.

Sources told Sudan Tribune that the delegation left for Geneva on Saturday.

Al-Burhan reiterated that the Jeddah Declaration obliges the RSF to withdraw from civilian homes and facilities in Khartoum, Al Jazirah, Sennar, and Darfur states. “There is no turning back on this, and if they refuse, we will persist in fighting them until they are forced out,” he firmly added.

He stressed the government will not go to Geneva to negotiate a new agreement, and if Washington is serious about peace, they should pressure the RSF to lift the siege of El Fasher in North Darfur and stop attacks on civilians.