Peace bid falters over generals’ role

THE latest US attempt to chart a way out of the devastating conflict in Sudan broke down this week amid deadlock over what role its warring generals should play in any peace process.

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Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been at war since April 2023 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and driven over 14 million from their homes.

Buoyed by its success in brokering a peace deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda earlier this month, the US had hoped to notch up another African diplomatic success in Sudan.

After several attempts by the Biden administration to broker a deal directly between the warring parties ended in failure, the Trump administration instead sought to engage its foreign partners, Egypt for the army and the United Arab Emirates for the RSE.

But a planned meeting due to have been held in the US was indefinitely postponed on Tuesday after Washington and fellow mediator Riyadh failed to secure agreement between Abu Dhabi and Cairo on the way forward, a diplomatic source said.

A proposal by the UAE to exclude both the army and the RSF from the peace process was seen as “totally unacceptable” by Egypt, an Arab diplomat said.