Senior leaders from Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) met three times this January in Bahrain, sources with knowledge of the talks said, the first such contact between the two warring sides in nine months of conflict.
Unlike previous talks on the war in Sudan, the meetings in Manama were attended by influential deputies from both forces and by officials from the Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, key supporters of the army and RSF respectively, according to the four sources, two of whom were present at the talks.
The unannounced talks, which the sources said were also attended by the United States and Saudi Arabia, come after repeated attempts by both powers as well as East African nations to broker a ceasefire and a political deal to end the war made little headway.
The war in Sudan erupted last April over disputes about the powers of the army and the RSF under an internationally-backed plan for a political transition towards civilian rule and elections.
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