A week of indirect talks involving Sudan’s warring parties wraps up in Geneva

BERLIN (AP) — A week of indirect talks involving Sudan’s warring parties ended in Geneva on Friday, the U.N. secretary-general’s personal envoy said. He described the discussions as an “encouraging initial step” in a complex process.

Representatives of the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces accepted invitations to meet separately with the envoy, Ramtane Lamamra, who started the talks on July 11. He said in a statement that his team held a total of about 20 sessions with the parties’ delegations.

Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between its military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital, Khartoum, and spread to other regions including Darfur. The U.N. says over 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured. Rights activists say the toll could be much higher.

The war has also created the world’s largest displacement crisis with over 11 million people forced to