Sky News Arabia – Abu Dhabi
The regional spokesman for the US State Department, Samuel Warburg, appealed to the two sides of the conflict in Sudan, urging them to return to talks and a complete ceasefire after 7 weeks of fighting.
Saudi Arabia and the United States previously suspended armistice talks, Thursday, after the collapse of a ceasefire they had brokered, accusing the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces of occupying homes, businesses and hospitals, launching air strikes and attacks, and carrying out prohibited military actions.
“The US team is still in Jeddah, we still want to see a peaceful political solution to this conflict,” Warburg said in exclusive statements to “Sky News Arabia”.
The spokesman stressed the need to “continue to urge the parties to engage in serious talks for a final ceasefire, because what is happening now is not in the interest of any party, especially the Sudanese people.”
Washington had officially approved, for the first time since the outbreak of the armed conflict in mid-April, new economic sanctions and visa restrictions “against the parties who practice violence” in Sudan.
The army and the Rapid Support Forces exchange accusations of violating the armistice, while the people of Khartoum suffer under the brunt of the war that has devastated areas in the center of the capital and threatens to destabilize the region.
The US State Department spokesman said that his country is “deeply concerned about the situation in Sudan, where the ongoing conflict has led to the loss of a large number of lives, and affected those who desperately need support.”
Warburg identified the reasons for the sanctions in a number of points, saying:
• We are keen to act aggressively to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, which is why we have imposed economic sanctions and visa restrictions on those responsible for the escalation of violence.
• President Joe Biden issued an executive order on May 4 expanding the powers of the US authorities to respond to violence and help end the conflict, and we are implementing this order today by taking measures that enhance accountability and transparency.
• These measures include imposing sanctions on the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces and their affiliated entities.
• We support the Sudanese people who did not ask for this conflict, and we are working hard to prevent the country from being drawn into a protracted conflict.
• Washington is ready to take further action as necessary, do our best to provide humanitarian assistance without hindrance, and work towards silencing the weapons and restoring peace, security and stability to Sudan.
Violent clashes
Sudanese sources told Sky News Arabia, on Saturday, that violent battles broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, west of Khartoum, in which heavy weapons were used.
The sources pointed out that he “heard the sounds of artillery shelling near the radio and television building in Omdurman.”
From Thursday evening until Friday morning, clashes took place between the two sides of the conflict, after talks that were aimed at stabilizing the ceasefire and alleviating the humanitarian crisis faltered, prompting the United States to impose sanctions.
According to “Reuters”, quoting residents in Khartoum and neighboring Omdurman, that the army resumed air strikes and used more artillery as the clashes continued, amid the absence of any indications of the withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces from the streets of the capital and the homes where they were based.
