New York, September 28 (Darfur24)
The UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, said Saturday that the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have established mechanisms to discuss confidence-building measures, including possible prisoner exchanges and the release of civilian detainees.
Haavisto told the UN website that he discussed the measures with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.
“Both sides have now established a specific mechanism to discuss this issue with us,” Haavisto said.
He said extensive diplomatic efforts were underway to find a peaceful solution to the war. Still, he noted that both sides continued to seek military gains to strengthen their positions ahead of negotiations.
Haavisto said Sudan was a major focus of diplomatic activity during the UN General Assembly’s high-level week, including meetings of the Quartet comprising the United States, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the Quintet, which also includes the African Union, IGAD, the Arab League, European Union and United Nations.
He said the conflict was further complicated because both sides are coalitions of multiple political and military actors, making a political settlement depend on extensive diplomacy with various influential parties.
Haavisto warned of the growing use of drones against civilian targets, aid convoys, schools and hospitals, and called for an end to the flow of weapons and drones into Sudan.
He also said about 99% of unexploded ordnance in Khartoum remains to be cleared, citing reports from UN personnel.
The UN envoy stressed the need for regional cooperation to prevent the conflict from spreading to neighboring countries, which are already hosting large numbers of Sudanese refugees.