CAIRO: As warfare that has left more than a million refugees reached its sixth week, the warring groups in Sudan agreed to a seven-day truce late on Saturday.
“The truce will start at 9:45 pm on Monday,” the talks’ sponsors, the United States and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement.
Previous cease-fire pacts remained broken. The statement continued without going into further detail that “this agreement will be implemented by a monitoring body sponsored by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other nations.”
Additionally, the deal asks for the distribution of humanitarian aid, the restoration of key services, and the removal of military personnel from hospitals and other crucial public institutions.
“It’s past time to put a stop to the shooting and to block human access. The world is watching, and I beg both parties to honour this deal, stated U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
There has been a breakdown of order as a result of the battle between the army of Sudan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Food, currency, and vital supplies are quickly running out, and banks, embassies, assistance storage facilities, and even churches have become the targets of widespread looting.
The capital city of Khartoum’s lack of personnel protection and safe transit has led relief organisations to claim they are unable to offer enough help there.
Air Strikes
Witnesses in southern Omdurman and northern Bahri, the two cities that make up Sudan’s “triple capital” and are located on opposite sides of the Nile from Khartoum, reported airstrikes The eyewitnesses said some of the strikes took place near the state broadcaster in Omdurmanto the national broadcaster.
Sanaa Hassan, 33, a resident of Omdurman’s al-Salha suburb, told Reuters by phone that “we faced heavy artillery fire early this morning, the whole house was shaking.”
“Everyone was hiding beneath their mattresses; it was scary. The situation is a nightmare, she declared.
Due to its placement within civilian areas, the RSF draws practically constant airstrikes from the regular armed forces.
Eyewitnesses in Khartoum said the situation was relatively calm, although sporadic gunshots could be heard.
The conflict began on April 15 and displaced almost 1.1 million people internally and into neighbouring countries. According to the World Health Organisation, some 705 people have been killed and at least 5,287 injured.
