Sudan’s warring sides agree to a 72-hour ceasefire
Fighting in Sudan has abated after the army and the rival paramilitary force agreed to a 72-hour truce.
The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) said the U.S. and Saudi Arabia mediated the ceasefire.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the agreement first and said it followed two days of intense negotiations.
“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said in a statement.
The truce seems to be holding this time round after several failed attempts in the past couple of weeks.
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But foreign countries are still going ahead with the evacuation of their citizens. At least 400 people have been killed in the fighting.
UN Secretary General António Guterres has warned the violence in Sudan could engulf the whole region and beyond.
Tens of thousands of people, including Sudanese citizens are said to have fled the fighting to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.
The fighting between the rival groups followed rising tensions over the RSF’s integration into the military.
The main sticking points are plans to include the 100,000-strong RSF into the army, and who would then lead the new force.
The disagreement over the timetable for that has delayed the signing of an internationally backed agreement with political parties on a transition to democracy.
It is the first of such clashes since both joined forces to oust president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019.
Foreign states begin evacuating citizens from Sudan as fighting continues
Source: Africafeeds.com
