Sudan’s Sovereignty and Cabinet Councils held a joint meeting on Wednesday in the capital, Khartoum the first such meeting since the war erupted in April 2023.
The session follows Prime Minister Kamal Idris’s announcement ten days ago of the government’s full return to the capital. He pledged to improve essential services, including healthcare, education, electricity, water, and sanitation, as well as to address citizens’ living conditions and pensions.
According to a Sudanese government source quoted by Agence France-Presse, the Security and Defense Council, chaired by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, will convene to discuss a new Saudi-American humanitarian ceasefire initiative.
The Sudanese army is currently reviewing the Saudi-American proposal aimed at ending the nearly three-year conflict, the source added. Cairo hosted a high-level meeting last week to discuss peace efforts in Sudan, but little progress was reported.
Diplomatic efforts over the past three years have failed to secure a ceasefire between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In November, Burhan rejected a truce proposal presented by the International Quartet on Sudan — comprising the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt — calling it “unacceptable” and labeling the Quartet “biased.” The Sudanese military has accused the UAE of supporting the RSF with funds, weapons, and fighters, accusations Abu Dhabi has denied.
Burhan later expressed readiness to cooperate with Washington and appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene to help end the war.
Last week, Cairo hosted another high-level meeting bringing together the Quartet, the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, and other countries to review peace efforts that have so far failed to yield results.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 11 million people, creating what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis