Sudan: Saudis and Americans want a new "effective" truce

Saudi Arabia and the United States are seeking to "continue discussions" between the warring parties in Sudan for a new "effective" ceasefire, Riyadh said Sunday, as fighting between the military and paramilitaries enters its eighth week with no end in sight.

Paramilitaries from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed on Sunday to have shot down a fighter jet after the army "launched a daring air assault against the positions of our forces" in northern Khartoum.

A military source also told AFP that a Chinese-made fighter jet crashed near the Wadi Seidna base, north of Khartoum, due to a "technical failure". Witnesses said they saw a plane moving from the south to the north of the capital, flames shooting from the rear.

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The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that emissaries from the army and paramilitaries were still in Jeddah on the Red Sea, where negotiations had been officially suspended.

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Saudi Arabia and the United States are seeking to continue discussions between the two (Sudanese) delegations to facilitate humanitarian assistance," he added.

The two mediators called for "a new ceasefire that is effectively implemented", knowing that the two previous truces they had negotiated remained a dead letter.

Riyadh and Washington also want the parties to the conflict to agree on "the measures to be taken in the short term for the resumption of negotiations in Jeddah".

On Wednesday, the military withdrew from talks that were supposed to create safe corridors for civilians and humanitarian aid. The next day, the United States and Saudi Arabia said they were officially suspending.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia from June 6 to 8, with the United States saying it is ready to resume talks in Jeddah with the Sudanese generals if they are "serious" in their willingness to respect the ceasefire.