ISTANBUL

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Friday that the country’s top diplomat, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, discussed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio the “tragic situation” in Sudan.

Bin Zayed and Rubio explored over the phone ways to strengthen strategic relations between the two countries and regional developments, “including the tragic situation in Sudan,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Bin Zayed emphasized “the importance of activating the provisions of the statement issued last September by the Quad, comprising the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the US, to end the conflict in Sudan and reach a peaceful resolution to the crisis,” the ministry said.

Sudan has been locked in a deadly war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023. It has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.

Last week, the RSF said that it had agreed to join a humanitarian truce proposed by the Quad. Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, however, rejected on Friday any truce or peace agreement with the RSF until the group first lays down its weapons.

Last month, the RSF captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, amid reports of mass killings and atrocities against civilians.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that nearly 100,000 people have fled El-Fasher since the RSF takeover.