The South Sudanese foreign ministry said Monday that President Salva Kiir had reached out to Sudan's military rivals to have the 72-hour ceasefire prolonged beyond Wednesday to create a conducive atmosphere for peace talks.
South Sudan's Acting Foreign Minister, Deng Dau Malek, told Arabic media that the president had asked Gen. Burhan to hold a meeting with Daglo or his representative, without specifying the location.
"Burhan agreed in principle to the possibility of holding talks with Daglo … Our president is trying to reach Daglo to offer the possibility of meeting with Burhan," the Arab-language news channel quoted Malek as saying.
Later in the day, a Sudanese armed forces official told Arabic broadcaster that Burhan would not hold any talks with Daglo.
"No negotiations with the rebels, neither in South Sudan nor in any other country ... Burhan will not go to another country to meet with the rebel leader," the broadcaster quoted the unnamed official as saying.
The official added that fighting was underway to end the "lawlessness" of the Rapid Support Forces and to defeat them in Khartoum, the report read.
Clashes between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out on April 15 after a long period of rising tensions within the military. The United Nations estimates that more than 400 people have died and thousands more have been displaced by the ongoing power struggle. Countries have been evacuating their nationals and diplomats from Sudan since Sunday.