NAIROBI, February 3. /TASS/. US diplomats are promoting a new initiative within the Board of Peace to end the conflict in Sudan, the Sudan Tribune newspaper reported citing sources.

Diplomats familiar with the matter told the paper that the Sudan strategy aimed to secure an immediate humanitarian truce and a permanent ceasefire by March, as well as to finally carry out long-needed military and security reforms. A key condition of the proposal is that extremist elements, particularly Islamic groups, should be shut out of the country’s military and political life.

According to the Sudan Tribune, the plan is backed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with his counterparts in these countries last week in order to coordinate diplomatic efforts, the paper noted.

The situation in Sudan escalated in April 2023 amid disagreements between army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the Sovereignty Council, and head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Clashes erupted in Khartoum and soon spread across the country, killing at least 40,000 people, according to expert estimates. About 14 million people had to flee their homes, with many on the brink of famine.

On January 22, 19 countries signed the Charter of the Board of Peace on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The body was created as part of efforts to resolve the situation in the Gaza Strip. The Board of Peace was established based on an agreement between Israel and the radical Palestinian movement Hamas to govern the Gaza Strip, but it is also supposed to prevent and settle conflicts in other regions.