UN-led talks between Sudan's warring parties were set to continue in Geneva on Friday focusing on brokering "possible local ceasefires" to help deliver aid and protect civilians across the country.
Heavy conflict erupted last April between rival militaries over a proposed transition to civilian rule, following a military coup in 2021 and the 2019 ousting of long-time President Omar Al-Bashir.
UN Geneva spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci confirmed that only one of the delegations attended the initial discussions after senior representatives from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces accepted invitations to meet with the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.
'Proximity' talks to continue
Despite Thursday's setback, Mr. Lamamra and his team invited both parties to continue discussions with him separately on Friday in the Swiss city, in a process known as proximity talks.
"The engagements continue today", said Ms. Vellucci, Director of the UN Information Service at UN Geneva. "We urge them to participate…The humanitarian situation in Sudan is deteriorating by the day. So, we really need to look at the devastating impact that this has on the civilian population. And we urge the delegations to rise up to this challenge and engage in constructive discussions."
Humanitarian emergency
The development comes amid increasing international pressure for an end to the fighting, which has uprooted millions and sparked growing fears of imminent famine.
The humanitarian community has also warned about the widespread upheaval caused by the conflict which spread quickly from the capital, Khartoum, to other regions including Darfur, leaving nearly 25 million people - half of Sudan's population - requiring aid.
More than 14,000 people are believed to have been killed and 33,000 injured amid ongoing heavy fighting, which has also created the world's largest displacement crisis. Over 11 million people have been forced to flee their homes and international experts recently warned that 755,000 people face famine in the coming months.
'Unprecedented' rights abuses
Top independent human rights expert on Sudan, Radhouane Nouicer, also sounded the alarm on Friday, warning that the scale of human rights violations and abuses in Sudan was unprecedented".
After visiting Port Sudan. Mr. Nouicer - who does not work for the UN and reports to the Human Rights Council - called on the Sudanese authorities to protect civilians, allow unhindered humanitarian access, stop arbitrary arrests and ensure accountability for human rights violations. He stressed the need for a comprehensive peace process and international implementation of an arms embargo on Sudan, imposed by the Security Council in 2005.
Sudan: WFP responds to new displacement crisis
Meanwhile, as fighting continues further into Sudan's east, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it was scaling up assistance to displaced people in Sennar state.
Clashes around Sinja town - reportedly seized by the RSF on 29 June - have forced tens of thousands to flee, worsening Sudan's hunger crisis, WFP warned. Many people have been displaced for the second or third time since the conflict started as Sennar state is home to families who earlier fled from Khartoum or Al Jazira.
WFP has prepositioned more than 2,200 metric tons of food for newly displaced families and is helping 40,000 in Blue Nile and 3,000 in Gedaref. But the violence in eastern Sudan is threatening to cut off key humanitarian routes from Port Sudan and complicate aid delivery, UN aid teams have warned.
South Sudan lifeline
Thousands more people from Sudan are also expected to flee to South Sudan where resources are already scarce. WFP reported that 1,000 people per day are still entering the border town of Renk; to help, the UN agency has scaled up assistance and now supports 1.4 million people with food and cash assistance, with 91 new points of aid distribution opened in Sudan.
WFP has continued to transfer food from Kosti to other locations in preparation for more access constraints due to the fighting.
