RIYADH: Sudan’s warring parties resumed talks in Saudi Arabia on Thursday aimed at ending a conflict that has raged for over six months and left thousands dead, the Saudi foreign ministry said.

Since April, the war between regular forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, has killed more than 9,000 people and displaced over 5.6 million.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia welcomes the resumption of talks between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and representatives of the Rapid Support Forces in the city of Jeddah,” a statement said. Both sides announced Wednesday they had accepted an invitation to resume US- and Saudi-brokered negotiations in Jeddah.

Previous mediation attempts have yielded only brief truces, and even those were systematically violated. The latest talks are being held “in partnership” with a representative of the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the East African regional bloc led by close US partner Kenya, the Saudi statement said.

The statement called on negotiators to abide by an earlier agreement announced on May 11 to protect civilians and a short-term ceasefire deal signed on May 20.

“The kingdom affirms its keenness on unity of ranks... to stop the bloodshed and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people,” the statement said.

Riyadh hopes for “a political agreement under which security, stability and prosperity will be achieved for Sudan and its brotherly people”.