IN a clear sign of their seriousness to end the escalating conflict in Sudan, four East African states, led by Kenya, are pushing for the deployment of a regional force to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches millions of people trapped in the war zone.
But getting the agreement of the warring factions will be a tough call, as they have shown no interest in anything other than military victory since the conflict broke out in mid-April.
The military, headed by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, controls most of eastern and central Sudan, and is fighting to hold on to its bases in the capital, Khartoum.
The rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo, known as “Hemedti”, has made advances in Khartoum, where its fighters have been accused of murders, rapes and occupying and pillaging hospitals.
The military bombs RSF positions relentlessly in the capital, reportedly causing widespread civilian casualties.
Over the media horizon, horrifying violence rages in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
The RSF has overrun most of the region. Along with their allied Arab militia, RSF fighters have driven out many thousands of ethnic Masalit from their historic homeland in western Darfur.
They burned the palace of the sultan, the group’s customary leader. When the governor, Khamis Abbakar, called it “genocide” men in RSF uniform abducted and killed him.
More than 160,000 Masalit refugees have fled across the border to Chad.
The RSF also ransacked the city of Zalingei, home to the Fur community, and encircled the two biggest cities in the region, al-Fashir and Nyala.
Many Darfuris fear this is the culmination of a long-standing plan to transform the ethnically-mixed region into an Arab-ruled domain.
The urgent need in western Darfur is civilian protection. Ironically, the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur had exactly this mandate. But it was withdrawn two years ago in a decision that now seems terribly misguided.
RSF forces are also besieging the capital of North Kordofan state, El-Obeid.
Should they capture it, the military will survive only in pockets west of the River Nile.
In South Kordofan, a rebel group, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, waging its own insurgency for the past 12 years, has advanced towards the state capital, Kadugli, as the military finds itself over-stretched fighting the RSF.
Suddenly, there is a flurry of diplomatic activity. But there is no agreement on who should be in the lead.
Since the second week of the conflict, the US and Saudi Arabia have been convening ceasefire talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah.