UN envoy: No sign Sudan rivals willing to hold talks

Khartoum [Sudan], April 27: Sudan's former long-term autocratic leader Omar Al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), is reportedly being treated in a military hospital in the capital of Khartoum, according to army sources.
The Sudanese army posted a statement on Wednesday on its Facebook page saying Al-Bashir, 79, was in the hospital and is being guarded there by police. The information could not be independently verified.
According to media reports, the prison police released prisoners at the weekend because they could not ensure their basic care. De facto president Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who is also the commander-in-chief of the army, wants to use the military to oust his deputy Mohammed HamdanDaglo.
Daglo is the leader of the influential paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The two generals took over leadership of the country of around 46 million people through two joint military coups in 2019 and 2021.
The situation for people caught in the current war has deteriorated. On Wednesday, the aid organization SOS Children's Villages announced that its facility in the capital had been attacked by gunmen.
A total of 68 children and 19 staff members had to be evacuated and are now housed in rental flats in other districts of Khartoum. "Many people have spent days on the floor, not even daring to lift their heads, due to repeated uncontrolled shelling," said Ahmed Mihaimeed, a member of the aid agency's crisis management team. US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed the death of another US citizen in Sudan on Wednesday. He did not give details.
Earlier, the UN special envoy to Sudan said there is no sign the country's rival military forces are willing to negotiate with each other as fighting continued despite a three-day ceasefire. Volker Perthes told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council the two warring parties remain convinced that "securing a military victory over the other is possible" and that neither is "ready to seriously negotiate." "This is a miscalculation," said Perthes, speaking to the council from the city of Port Sudan.
The envoy said he is in regular contact with rival generals who are battling for control of the north-east African country, where heavy fighting broke out more than a week ago.
De facto president Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, who is also commander-in-chief of the army, is fighting with the military against his deputy Mohammed HamdanDaglo, the leader of the powerful paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The two men have led the gold and oil-rich country of some 46 million people since a military coup in 2021.
The situation for people caught in the current conflict has deteriorated. On Wednesday, the aid organization SOS Children's Villages announced that its facility in the capital had been attacked by gunmen. A total of 68 children and 19 staff members had to be evacuated and are now housed in rental flats in other districts of Khartoum, it said, adding that conditions were poor.
"Many people have spent days on the floor, not even daring to lift their heads, due to repeated uncontrolled shelling," said Ahmed Mihaimeed, a member of the aid agency's crisis management team.
Governments from across the world have been scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Sudan.
Days after Germany began bringing its nationals to safety, the parliament in Berlin on Wednesday approved the Bundeswehr armed forces deployment retroactively for the evacuation mission.
The operation had begun before the mandate was given because lives had been at risk, in accordance with the German Parliamentary Participation Act. An overwhelming majority of 663 lawmakers approved the mission, with seven abstaining and no one voting against it.
It had been necessary to act quickly and decisively, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the Bundestag, as the parliament is known. "In this dramatic security situation and continuing escalation of violence in Sudan, the federal government had to live up to its responsibility immediately. The situation did not tolerate any delay," he said.
The Bundeswehr airlifted more than 700 people from the military airport in Khartoum, including 197 German nationals, a spokesman said on Wednesday following the end of the planned evacuation flights. However, the mission has not formally concluded yet, with the return transport of troops and equipment now under way.
Source: Qatar Tribune