US envoy attends event with Sudanese army chief in Egypt

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - An envoy of President Donald Trump said he attended an event over the weekend with the head of Sudan's army, which is fighting a war with paramilitary forces that has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

DETAILS:

• US Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs Massad Boulos said on X he attended a lunch hosted by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah ​al-Sisi alongside Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

• "We ... reaffirm the United States' continued efforts, alongside our Egyptian partners and our other regional and international partners and allies, to advance a political solution to the crisis," Boulos added in his post.

• A senior official in Sudan's military-led government said Burhan had a "casual encounter" with Boulos, but the two did not hold any talks.

• The event in Egypt came less than two weeks after Washington withheld a visa for the Sudanese army chief ahead of a scheduled UN appearance, in a move that Sudanese and other sources said was linked to a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Khartoum has resisted.

• Sudan's army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, when the two fell out over issues including how to integrate their forces in a planned transition to civilian rule.

• The US State Department said last month that neither the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary nor either of their respective leaders "represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan".

• The war has displaced more than 14 million people and unleashed waves of ethnically driven killings.

• "The United States stands ready to support all efforts leading to a comprehensive dialogue among the Sudanese political forces, leading to a preliminary road map of the future of the Sudan," Boulos said on Monday.

• Washington has accused the RSF of committing genocide and the army of carrying out war crimes. Both have previously denied abuses.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Andrew Heavens)