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[Text/Observer Network Chen Sijia] According to Al Jazeera on August 14, a new round of ceasefire negotiations on the Sudanese armed conflict was held in Geneva, Switzerland that day. The Sudanese Rapid Support Force sent representatives to participate in the negotiations, but the Sudanese Armed Forces refused to attend. The commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, Burhan, said that unless the Rapid Support Forces withdraw from the cities and villages they occupy, the fighting will not stop.

The talks were led by the United States, with representatives from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the United Nations, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa also attending. In a joint statement, the parties said the talks aimed to end hostile military actions in Sudan, push all parties to the conflict to abide by the Jeddah Declaration and international humanitarian law, and provide support for humanitarian access.

U.S. special envoy for Sudan Tom Perriello posted on social media that after the first day of negotiations, the relevant groups had put forward recommendations for all parties to abide by and implement their commitments in the Jeddah Declaration.

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces sent a delegation to the talks and said they might accept a peace deal if the Sudanese armed forces were willing to participate, but a spokesman for the US mission in Geneva confirmed that the Sudanese armed forces refused to participate in the talks.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, said in a speech on the 13th that the Sudanese Armed Forces would not stop fighting unless the Rapid Support Forces withdrew from the cities and villages they occupied. The Sudanese government also issued a statement on the 11th criticizing the United States for hastily advancing the Geneva ceasefire negotiations without reaching an agreement with the Sudanese government.

In April 2023, armed conflict broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces in the capital Khartoum, which then spread to many parts of Sudan. Al Jazeera said that the Rapid Support Forces currently control most of the territory of Darfur in western Sudan and Gezira State south of Khartoum, while the Sudanese Armed Forces are based in Port Sudan in the east.

Under the mediation of Saudi Arabia and other countries, the conflicting parties in Sudan held ceasefire negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia since May 2023 and signed the Jeddah Declaration, pledging to protect the lives and safety of civilians, avoid any military actions that may cause harm to civilians, provide guarantees for humanitarian activities in Sudan, and allow aid supplies to be delivered to people in need without restrictions.

Since then, the two sides have reached brief ceasefire agreements several times, but none of them have been effectively implemented.

In the armed conflict that has lasted for more than 16 months, both sides in Sudan's conflict have been accused of shelling civilian targets and obstructing the delivery of aid. The conflict has killed about 19,000 people and displaced 13 million. UN officials warned earlier this week that Sudan is at a "catastrophic breaking point" and predicted that if the conflict is not ended, tens of thousands of people may die from hunger, disease, floods and violence in the coming months.

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