Sudan at 'breaking point' amid civil war as US-mediated cease-fire talks set to begin

LONDON -- The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan has said U.S.-mediated cease-fire talks between warring Sudanese parties are set to go ahead this week, despite pending confirmation of participation from the Sudanese Army.

The talks are set to begin Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland, and will be co-hosted by Switzerland and Saudi Arabia with additional observation from the African Union, Egypt, the United Nations and the United Arab Emirates, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

"The time for peace is now," said U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello on Tuesday ahead of talks aimed at ending the now 16-month war between the Sudanese Army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces Paramilitary group (RSF), along with its allied militias.

"The RSF delegation has arrived in Switzerland," Perriello said on social media early on Wednesday. "Our U.S. delegation, and the collective international partners, technical experts, and Sudanese civil society, are still waiting on the SAF. The world is watching."

Perriello said in the days leading up to the talks that the facilitators had had "extensive engagement" with the SAF, but still had not been given confirmation that representatives would arrive in Switzerland.

"We will move forward with every effort possible with our international partners to reach an action plan, a concrete action plan, about how we can advance that cessation of violence and the full humanitarian access and, monitoring and enforcement mechanism," he said. "These are long past due."

The talks come as the U.N. warns the situation in Sudan has reached a "catastrophic breaking point," with a declaration of famine in Sudan's North Darfur, recent widespread flooding and unabated combat between warring parties compounding on what was already "one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory."

New figures from the International Office for Migration (IOM) show displacement in Sudan continues to soar, almost 11 million people now internally displaced -- many of whom have already been displaced twice, or more.

"Tens of millions of Sudanese face either full on starvation or acute hunger," said Perriello. "There are more refugees and displaced people than the entire population of Switzerland just from Sudan alone right now."

In Sudan's Sennar State, where the RSF has advanced amid reports of widespread killings, lootings and human rights abuses, over 700,000 people have been displaced.

"Without an immediate, massive, and coordinated global response, we risk witnessing tens of thousands of preventable deaths in the coming months. We are at breaking point, a catastrophic, cataclysmic breaking point," said Othman Belbeisi, IOM's Regional Director for Middle East North Africa.

The northeast African nation was plunged into chaos in April 2023 as tensions between Sudan's military and the notorious paramilitary group RSF boiled over as forces loyal to the two rival generals battled for control of the resource-rich nation following talks over a planned transition to civilian rule.

Fighting began on April 15, 2023, in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country. The combat between warring parties has continued to rage in areas of North Darfur, Al Jazirah state, Sennar State, West Kordofan and other areas.

The civil war has left almost 16,000 dead in its wake and at least 33,000 injured according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Local groups, however, warn the true toll is likely much higher.

The U.S. invited warring parties to cease-fire talks last month. The talks are the latest in a string of yet-successful initiatives aimed at ending the war as regional and international efforts to end the conflict intensify.

They aim to build off the Jeddah negotiations, which were co-facilitated with Saudi Arabia. The talks are not set to address broader political issues, the US State Department said.

"The US and our partners stand with the Sudanese people in pushing forward with all efforts to produce a cessation of violence and expanded humanitarian access now," said Perriello.