KHARTOUM: Rival factions of Sudan’s military have agreed to renew a three-day truce shortly before it was going to expire.
The extension for another three days follows intensive diplomatic efforts by the neighbouring countries, as well as the United States, United Kingdom and the United Nations. But there are still continuing reports of heavy fighting in the capital Khartoum.
The previous ceasefire allowed thousands of people to flee to safety, while dozens of countries tried to evacuate their citizens. Almost two weeks of fighting between the army and the rival paramilitary group have left hundreds of people dead. The ceasefire was to end at midnight local time (22:00 GMT), reported BBC News.
Early Thursday evening, the Sudanese regular army agreed to the extension in ceasefire and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces followed suit hours later. South Sudan has offered to host peace talks and the regular army has agreed to send representatives to the talks.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said Washington was “very actively working” to extend the ceasefire, adding that while imperfect it had limited violence. But White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre later stated that the situation could worsen at any moment.
Meanwhile the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and eyewitnesses said that the army had been pounding their positions in Khartoum. The foreign minister in the civilian government, Maryam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, told the BBC from Khartoum that despite the ceasefire, civilians were still living in fear.
“What they call a truce has nothing to do with what is happening,” she told Radio Four’s World Tonight programme. “The bombardment by the aeroplanes is taking place almost all day and night.” There were reports of fighting in the western Darfur region and other provinces. The reports suggest that at least 512 people were killed in the fighting and over 4,200 injured, although the real number of deaths could be much higher. The World Health Organization (WHO) said it expected there to be “many more” deaths due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of services. According to the health officials, hospitals in conflict areas are not functioning, and more than 60% of health facilities in Khartoum are inactive.
“Sudan has 15 million people in humanitarian need and I think part of our call today as the International Rescue Committee is to say let’s not fall into that trap of thinking that once thousands are evacuated the problem is solved.”
Reuters new agency quoted an army statement which said it had taken control of most of Sudan’s regions but “the situation is a bit complicated in some parts of the capital”. It was not possible for the BBC to verify the army’s claims.
