Red Cross hopes Sudan talks will pave way for aid surge

Red Cross chief Spoljaric said Monday she hopes this week's scheduled talks on the Sudan conflict will result in solid humanitarian steps and remove obstacles blocking a ceasefire.

The United States last month invited Sudan's warring sides to hold ceasefire talks in Switzerland, more than a year after fighting broke out between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Spoljaric described the situation in Sudan as a "humanitarian disaster". She called for "very concrete humanitarian steps that will help build the trust, and will help remove some of the immediate obstacles for a ceasefire agreement". She was speaking at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, the international treaties governing humanitarian treatment in armed conflicts.