UN envoy says Jeddah deal can still anchor future Sudan peace talks, as fears grow over El-Obeid
NEW YORK CITY: The 2023 Jeddah agreement brokered by Saudi Arabia can still serve as a foundation for future Sudan peace talks, the UN’s special envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, said on Thursday, even as he voiced alarm over an intensifying offensive by the Rapid Support Forces around the city of El-Obeid.
He told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York that he was coordinating with about 10 nongovernmental peace initiatives, including the Carter Center and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, to avoid any “forum shopping” by the warring parties, which he said sometimes play mediators off against one another by choosing who to engage with.
Regarding the situation in El-Obeid, Haavisto said he was “alarmed” by escalating hostilities around the city, and warned that any further deterioration could put thousands of civilians at risk and echo the devastation previously seen in Darfur and El-Fasher.
He said frequent drone strikes and the massing of troops around the city were already disrupting the flow of humanitarian aid, with UN agencies active on the ground reporting signs of a possible isolation or siege.
