FILE - Smoke rises over Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, June 8, 2023, as fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces continues. The United Nations was hosting closed-door talks in Geneva Thursday July 11, 2024=. AP
War has raged since April 2023 between the Sudanese regular army under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, invited delegations from the army and the RSF for talks in Geneva, focused on humanitarian aid and protecting civilians, UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told a media briefing.
Despite being present in the Swiss city, one side did not show up for Thursday's first day of discussions, she said, without identifying which party.
The talks are taking place under the so-called proximity format, whereby Lamamra will separately meet with one delegation at a time, in different rooms. The two delegations are not scheduled to meet each other.
"The personal envoy has started the discussion, yesterday; indeed one of the parties didn't show up, but they are here in Geneva," Vellucci said.
"I can't give you the details on which warring party has showed up or not," she told reporters.
"We urge both parties to participate in the discussions.
"The engagements continue today... We will see how long it will last."
The talks are in Geneva, with some of them taking place at the UN's Palais des Nations headquarters, said Vellucci. No end date has been scheduled.
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