Türkiye welcomed on Saturday a commitment by Sudan’s warring sides on guidelines for allowing the safe flow of humanitarian assistance in the conflict-torn country.
“We hope that the declaration will lead to the establishment of a lasting cease-fire and inclusive dialogue in Sudan. It is our greatest wish that the humanitarian situation in Sudan will improve and that all our Sudanese brothers and sisters will have uninterrupted access to basic needs,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.
Türkiye is ready to give all kinds of support to efforts to establish peace and stability in Sudan, it added.
After a week of talks in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Friday signed a “Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan.”
Representatives of Sudan’s warring parties will resume talks on Sunday on how to implement plans to deliver humanitarian aid and remove troops from civilian areas, a senior Saudi diplomat said.
The parties will remain in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah to start the next phase of the negotiations.
The kingdom has also invited General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, to an Arab League summit which is scheduled to take place in Jeddah on May 19.
On April 15, fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the RSF in the capital Khartoum and its surroundings. More than 600 people have been killed and thousands injured.
A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the Sudanese army and the RSF over the latter’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan’s transition agreement with political groups.
Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021 when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”
Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.