On Thursday, a senior delegation from the African Peace and Security Council began intensive discussions with Sudanese officials aimed at finding solutions to end the ongoing war in Sudan, which has persisted for approximately 18 months.
Concurrently, the American envoy revealed coordination efforts to deploy African peacekeeping forces to protect civilians.
An official from a Sudanese civil society organization told Sky News Arabia that during a meeting in Nairobi on Wednesday, the U.S. envoy, Tom Periello, informed them of ongoing talks with the African Union about introducing African peacekeeping forces.
Periello expressed deep frustration about the escalating conflict in Sudan and the significant deterioration of humanitarian conditions there.
He attributed the failure of peace efforts to the military’s decisions, influenced by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Periello’s statements come amid efforts to persuade both the military leaders and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to return to negotiation tables and find a resolution to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of Sudanese and displaced about 13 million from their homes.
Observers are skeptical about the potential for a breakthrough in negotiations given the current intensification of fighting in Khartoum and Darfur.
Since the conflict began in mid-April 2023, international and regional parties have proposed ten initiatives to cease the war, yet none have successfully resolved the crisis.
Despite numerous proposals and decisions made for direct meetings between the army and Rapid Support Forces leaders, these have not been implemented.
Political observers attribute the failure of these efforts to the proliferation of negotiating platforms, a lack of desire for peace by some parties, and pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes ceasing the war.
Observers believe the Sudanese crisis has indeed reached a deadlock, noting the horrific decline in humanitarian conditions, the increasing number of civilian casualties, and a growing hunger crisis affecting over 25 million people.
These factors suggest the possibility of external intervention to protect civilians, likely under a United Nations mandate, given the expected complexities within the UN Security Council.
In this context, Ambassador Sadiq Al-Maqli anticipates that any resolution within the Security Council may face a veto from China or Russia.
However, he suggests the possibility of pursuing a “humanitarian intervention” option, which could be executed through a regional international coalition, similar to previous conflict zones.
