Sudan

Sudan’s warring military factions signed a commitment to respect humanitarian principles in their spiraling conflict late Thursday but they did not reach a ceasefire in talks described by US diplomats as difficult.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk urged countries with influence in Africa to encourage Sudan’s warring sides to end the fighting that began last month.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and main paramilitary force is exacting a devastating toll on residents of Khartoum. But fighting has also swept through the long-troubled Darfur region, where humanitarian needs were already extremely high.

The number of internally displaced (IDPs) in Sudan has more than doubled in just the last week, since armed clashes erupted between rival militaries in multiple cities across Sudan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

The UN Secretary-General has strongly condemned the looting of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) main offices in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, over the weekend, describing it as “violation” of humanitarian facilities.

Representatives from Sudan's warring armies have arrived in Saudi Arabia for their first face-to-face negotiations. The "pre-negotiation talks" between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were due to start on Saturday in Jeddah. They are sponsored by the US and Saudi Arabia.

The United Nations pressed Sudan's warring factions on Wednesday to guarantee safe passage of humanitarian aid after six trucks were looted and air strikes in the capital undermined a supposed truce.

In Sudan, heavy fighting was reported in and around the capital Khartoum early Thursday, despite a weeklong cease-fire agreed to by both sides in the conflict. Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Defense Forces each appeared to be trying to push the other out of central Khartoum and control areas around the presidential palace and army headquarters.

More than 100,000 people have now fled Sudan to neighbouring countries in search of safety, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.  … The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that more than 334,000 people have been displaced inside Sudan, since the conflict between the national armed forces of Sudan’s ruling general, and that of his deputy’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, erupted more than two weeks ago.