Sudan's warring parties have made no progress towards a ceasefire in their latest talks, instead reiterating past agreements to improve access to humanitarian aid, host Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the war so far, according to a conservative estimate by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project.
Saudi Arabia hosted talks in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah during the war's first weeks which resulted in the Jeddah Declaration, a commitment to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure and to let in badly needed aid. But within a week, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths told AFP there had been "important and egregious" violations of the agreement.
The United States, which has helped facilitate the Jeddah talks, tried to downplay expectations for this latest round, with officials stressing it was too early to discuss a lasting political solution.
The two sides agreed to work with the UN "to address obstacles to the delivery of relief aid" and identify contact points to facilitate the transit of aid workers, Saudi Press Agency reported.
They also agreed to "confidence-building measures" including detaining prison escapees, it said, an apparent reference to top figures under former strongman Omar al-Bashir who broke out of detention facilities early on in the war and aligned with the army.
Read more here.
