Warring sides in Sudan are more open to negotiations and have accepted that the conflict that erupted two weeks ago cannot continue, a United Nations official told Reuters today — a glimmer of hope even as fighting continues.

The UN Special Envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, He said the two sides had appointed representatives to hold talks in either Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, or Juba, South Sudan, although he said there was a practical question of whether they would “actually be able to sit down.” together”.

He clarified, however, that there is no timetable for their holding.

The prospect of negotiations between the leaders of the two sides has so far seemed remote.

Yesterday Friday, the army chief and Sudan’s de facto leader after the 2021 coup, Gen. Abdel Fatah al Burhansaid in an interview that he would never sit next to the “rebel” leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who said he would only talk after the military ends hostilities.

Hundreds of people have been killed since April 15, when a long-running power struggle between the military and the paramilitary “Rapid Support Forces” erupted into conflict.

Perthes noted that he has informed the Security Council that both sides believe they could win the conflict, most recently in a briefing two days ago, but stressed that views are changing.

“Both sides believe they will win, but they are both more open to negotiations, the word ‘negotiations’ or ‘talks’ was not in their conversation in the first week,” he said.

While both had made statements that the other side should “surrender or die,” Perthes said, they were also saying, “OK, we accept … some form of talks.”

“They have both accepted that this war cannot continue,” he added.

While the military carries out daily airstrikes and claims to maintain control of vital facilities, residents say the RSF has a strong presence on the ground in Khartoum.

Fighting between the two forces damaged electricity, water and telecommunications infrastructure, while looting destroyed businesses and homes. Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled the conflict, either fleeing to other cities in the country or to neighboring countries.

What should be done immediately, Perthes suggested, is to develop a mechanism to monitor compliance with ceasefires, which have been agreed several times but have failed to stop the conflict.

Jeddah has been proposed as the venue for “military-technical” talks, while Juba has been proposed as part of a regional proposal by East African states for political talks.