US-mediated Sudan ceasefire talks have started in Switzerland, even though the Sudanese government is not attending.
Tom Perriello, the US Special Envoy for Sudan who is convening the discussions, insisted that they go ahead regardless, saying that the suffering people of Sudan, which has been ravaged by the devastating conflict, cannot wait any longer.
War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese army under the country's de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
While the RSF delegation is in Switzerland for the talks, which are taking place behind closed doors in an undisclosed location, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's Sudanese armed forces (SAF) have not accepted the invitiation.
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They objected to the format of the talks, which could last up to ten days.
They are being co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, with the African Union, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations attending as observers.
'The time for peace is now'
The brutal conflict has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
The fighting has forced one in five people to flee their homes, while tens of thousands have died. More than 25 million across the country, more than half its population, face acute hunger.
"The time for peace is now," Mr Perriello said.
"Thus far, SAF has not agreed to participate. Yet we will proceed with our international and technical partners to explore every option to support the people of Sudan," he said, urging the government to "seize the opportunity".
Previous rounds of talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah came to nothing.
With the SAF absent, there will be no formal mediation between the warring sides, but other attendees will press on with other aspects of the talks' agenda.
Mr Perriello said that there was a "deep sense of urgency to make progress this week towards a cessation of hostilities and expanded humanitarian access", plus ways to uphold agreements.
"The Sudanese people cannot afford for us to wait."
The Sudanese government said that more discussions are needed before they would join any ceasefire negotiations.
Alan Boswell, the Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group, said that Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is grappling with "serious internal divisions" on whether to attend.
"Restarting the talks at all would be a breakthrough, given that there have not been formal talks since last year," he said.
"The main difference from previous rounds is that the US is firmly in charge of the agenda and that all three of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Egypt are all present as well. That puts all the main outside actors with leverage over the warring parties in one room together."
He said if the government does not attend, Mr Burhan would come under mounting external pressure if he is seen as "the main obstacle to ending the war".
A land once rich with culture
Sudan is suffering the world's biggest displacement crisis. More than 10.7 million people are internally displaced within the country, while around 2.3 million more have fled abroad.
"What was once a land of rich culture, history, and hope has become a battlefield of despair, where millions of families are trapped in a living nightmare," said Mohamed Refaat, the UN migration agency's Sudan mission chief.
"Without a ceasefire...every day we delay, more lives are lost, more dreams are shattered, and more futures are stolen," Mr Refaat said and added "enough is enough".
James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, said he had spoken to a surgeon operating on boys injured Saturday in the fatal shelling of a football field in Khartoum State.
"He said to me: If those people behind this war could just see these injuries, could see these children who have been killed, they would find a way to sit and talk."
