Ceasefire talks in Saudi Arabia between Sudan's warring generals have yielded "no major progress" so far, according to a Saudi diplomat, dampening hopes for a quick end to the fighting.
Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), sent representatives to the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on Saturday for meetings that Washington and Riyadh described as "pre-negotiation talks".
The Sudanese army has said they will address how a truce "can be correctly implemented to serve the humanitarian side".
Beyond that, Sudanese and Saudi officials have provided scant information about what the talks will cover or how long they will last.
"No major progress is achieved so far," the Saudi diplomat said today.
"A permanent ceasefire isn't on the table. Every side believes it is capable of winning the battle."
The UN's top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, arrived in Jeddah yesterday intending to meet representatives of both camps, though his role in the process is unclear.
A spokesperson for Mr Griffiths said yesterday that he had arrived in Jeddah "to engage in humanitarian issues related to Sudan".
A separate UN official said today that Mr Griffiths had "asked to join the negotiations" but that his request had not been approved so far.
Multiple truce deals have been declared, without effect, since fighting erupted on 15 April in the poverty-stricken country with a history of instability.
Fierce combat has killed hundreds of people, wounded thousands and sparked multiple warnings of a "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis.
More than 100,000 people have already fled the country.
Saudi Arabia has assumed a major role in evacuations from Sudan, dispatching naval and commercial vessels to bring thousands of civilians across the Red Sea from the Sudanese coastal city of Port Sudan.
Yesterday, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed $100 million to be donated for assistance to Sudan, including medical aid and help for displaced people, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi officials will also organise a public donations campaign "to mitigate the effects of the conditions that the Sudanese people are currently going through", the agency said.
In a meeting yesterday, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan thanked the Saudi crown prince, the kingdom's de facto ruler, "for the support Saudi Arabia has provided to US citizens during the evacuation from Sudan," the White House said in a statement.
Concern to resume work
The Irish aid agency Concern has said it is resuming humanitarian operations in parts of Sudan after weeks of fighting between rival military factions.
Concern is also preparing its response to meet the needs of thousands who are crossing into Chad to flee hostilities.
Amina Abdualla, Concern's Regional Director in the Horn of Africa said that as Concern is responding to the needs of refugees in South Sudan and Chad.
She said that Khartoum still remains an active conflict area despite an extension of the ceasefire last week and the charity is getting reports of continued fighting.
She added that in other states, there has been relative calm from Thursday last week and the weekend, with all hopeful that will continue but movement between states and within states is very limited due to criminal activity happening, with groups taking advantage of the situation.
"We are seeing a very slow resumption of activities in the major towns. Businesses are not fully opening.. It is having a huge impact on the supply lines for basic commodities. The areas report being cut off for a number of weeks now."
Some Concern staff has been able to move around, access offices and are doing assessments to determine the need and level of response to provide to communities affected.
On the situation for those displaced by the conflict, "their needs are huge," she said.
"People have left their homes with very little, some just the clothes on their back so the priority is shelter and food, water and basic sanitation and healthcare".
She added that refugees are moving to Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and Ethiopia along with reports people in the central African republic.
