Halt fighting, G7 urges warring Sudan sides

Forum 1 year ago

Halt fighting, G7 urges warring Sudan sides

G7 foreign ministers on Tuesday urged warring forces in Sudan to “end hostilities immediately” and return to negotiations, after clashes that have killed almost 200 people.

A weeks-long power struggle exploded into deadly violence Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

The surge in violence forced the issue onto the agenda as the top G7 diplomats met in the Japanese town of Karuizawa for talks.

“We urge the parties to end hostilities immediately without pre-conditions,” they said in a statement issued after their discussions.

They warned that the fighting “threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan’s democratic transition.”

The group urged a return to negotiations and called on all sides to “take active steps to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians, including diplomatic and humanitarian personnel.”

Earlier Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the generals leading the two warring factions and urged them to agree to a ceasefire, the State Department said.