US official says Sudan talks will go ahead despite army staying away

The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan insisted on Monday that talks aimed at establishing peace in Sudan will go ahead despite the fact that Sudan's military has yet to confirm its participation.

The northeastern African nation plunged into chaos in April last year when tensions between the military and a notorious paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), turned into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, before spreading across the country.

The western region of Darfur has seen some of the most devastating bouts of fighting.

Talks brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia are due to begin on Wednesday. The RSF has confirmed it will attend.

A Sudanese government delegation met over the weekend with U.S. officials in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah in an attempt to have the military attend Wednesday, but no breakthrough was achieved.

"We will move forward with this event this week and that has been made clear to the parties," Tom Perriello, the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

"We could do more together if SAF commits to arriving with the kind of delegation that can make decisions."

The U.N., African Union, neighbouring Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — which has been accused of supporting the RSF with weapons, a claim UAE officials have denied — are expected to attend the talks as observers.

The U.N. migration agency said Monday that the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is at “a catastrophic breaking point”.

The conflict has killed thousands of people and pushed many into starvation.

Its atrocities include mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.

Sudan's war has created the world’s largest displacement crisis.

More than 10.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Over 2 million of those fled to neighbouring countries.

"The message from the Sudanese people has been clear. They want the international community to do more on humanitarian aid and access", Perriello said