US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call with Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan on Tuesday, May 28, to discuss the conflict in the African country and call for its end, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Blinken and General Al Burhan discussed the need to urgently end the conflict in Sudan and enable unhindered humanitarian access, including cross border and cross line, to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people, Miller said.
The two also discussed the need to resume Saudi-led peace talks between Sudan’s army and the rival Rapid Support Forces, which collapsed months ago.
Blinken urged the rival warring sides to protect civilians and deescalate hostilities in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State which the Rapid Support Forces are seeking to seize from the army.
Sudan’s official SUNA news agency reported that Al Burhan, who is also the president of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and Blinken discussed relations between Sudan and the US and ways to strenghthen them further.
Sudan was plunged into a deadly civil war in 2023 amid a power struggle between Al Burhan and the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
According to war monitor ACLED, the conflict has left more than 15,000 people dead.
