U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call with Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to discuss the urgent need to end the ongoing conflict in Sudan and ensure a smooth humanitarian access to the country, according to the State Department. Blinken emphasized the importance of resuming peace talks in Jeddah and protecting civilians, particularly in El-Fasher, North Darfur, where intense fighting has claimed at least 134 lives in two weeks according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a war between the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. El-Fasher remains the only state capital in North Darfur that isn’t controlled by the RSF. The city is a critical humanitarian hub for the war-torn region. Unfortunately, it has since intense fighting in recent weeks, which threatens the humanitarian efforts it enables.
SOURCE: VOA NEWS