- According to the US government, the conflicting parties in Sudan have agreed on a seven-day ceasefire and sealed it with their signatures for the first time.
- The ceasefire is intended to give people in the fighting-plagued country access to humanitarian aid, the State Department said in Washington.
- The parties to the conflict also agreed to withdraw military forces from hospitals and other key public facilities over the specified period.
The ceasefire, which is said to have been mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to come into force on Monday evening (Sudanese local time). The agreement was signed by representatives of both parties in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Twitter.
“It is well known that both sides have previously announced ceasefires that have been broken,” Washington said. Unlike the previous ceasefires, however, the Jeddah agreement was signed. In addition, this time a control mechanism supported by the USA and Saudi Arabia, among others, will be set up to report violations of the ceasefire.
Option to extend the ceasefire
“I appeal to both sides to stick to this agreement – the eyes of the world are watching,” Blinken warned. After the seven days, the agreement can be extended if the parties to the conflict agree.
In the country on the Horn of Africa, a long-simmering power struggle escalated violently on April 15. The army commanded by de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is fighting against the paramilitary forces of his Vice President Mohammed Hamdan Daglo. The two generals seized power together in 2021, but later fell out.