Biden calls on Sudan's warring parties to re-engage in negotiations

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on Sudan's warring parties to re-engage in negotiations to end a war that has been ongoing for more than 17 months.

"We call for all parties to this conflict to end this violence and refrain from fueling it, for the future of Sudan and for all of the Sudanese people," Biden said in a statement.

"I call on the belligerents responsible for Sudanese suffering—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)—to pull back their forces, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access, and re-engage in negotiations to end this war."

More than 12,000 people have been killed across Sudan since the war started on April 15, 2023.

The conflict began when competition between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which had previously shared power after staging a coup, flared into open warfare.

Biden said the RSF's assault is disproportionately harming Sudanese civilians and called on the armed forces to stop "indiscriminate" bombings that are destroying civilian lives and infrastructure.

The U.S. previously determined that the two sides committed war crimes and sanctioned 16 individuals and entities tied to the war.

Biden said the United States will continue to evaluate further atrocity allegations and potential additional sanctions. (This story has been corrected to fix the death toll to more than 12,000 in paragraph 4)

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Stephen Coates)