Sudan's RSF To Observe a 72-Hour Truce
Sudan’s paramilitary
Rapid Support Forces said Friday it has agreed to a 72-hour truce to begin at 6
a.m., designed to bring at least a temporary halt to the days of deadly
fighting in the African country that has killed hundreds.
The RSF said in a
statement, "The truce coincides with the blessed Eid al-Fitr ... to open
humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to
greet their families."
The Muslim holiday of
Eid marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
There has been no
indication, however, from the rival Sudan Armed Forces about its intention to
observe the truce.
On Thursday, U.N.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate halt to fighting and
appealed for a three-day cease-fire to mark the end of Ramadan to enable
trapped civilians to seek safety and supplies.
"This must be the first
step in providing respite from the fighting and paving the way for a permanent
cease-fire,” Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York.
He had just met
virtually with the heads of the African Union, Arab League and regional
Intergovernmental Authority on Development bloc, IGAD, as well as
representatives from other countries with influence. The session yielded no
breakthroughs.
Guterres has been working
the phones to achieve a deescalation since violence erupted last Saturday
between former allies, now rivals, Army Commander General Abdel Fattah
al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of the RSF.
"The cessation of
hostilities must be followed by serious dialogue allowing for the successful
transition, starting with the appointment of a civilian government,” the U.N.
chief said.
Humanitarian crisis
Guterres told reporters
it is "virtually impossible” for aid workers to conduct operations in the
current state of hostilities, and he demanded that fighters stop targeting
humanitarians.
Three employees of the
World Food Program were killed in crossfire at the start of the fighting in
Darfur. Others have been harassed and intimidated. There have also been reports
of sexual assaults on aid workers. Warehouses have been attacked, looted and
seized. The WFP said 4,000 metric tons of food was stolen at one of its depots
in Nyala, south Darfur.
"There were no
humanitarian services provided to Sudanese the last five days, simply because
it’s not possible for any humanitarian workers to move outside of their home
location or their compound,” the acting U.N. humanitarian and resident
coordinator for Sudan, Abdou Dieng, told reporters by phone Thursday from the
country.
He said the U.N. was
hoping for a cease-fire to move staff in more dangerous areas to safer zones
but said that what is safe one day may not be safe the next.
World Health
Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Thursday that more than 330
people have been killed in the fighting and around 3,200 wounded.
The U.N. has warned
that Sudan’s health care system "could completely collapse.” Hospitals need
more staff and supplies, including blood.
At least 20 hospitals
already have closed, according to Sudan’s minister of health. At least nine in
the capital, Khartoum, are closed, with the potential for a dozen more to soon
close, according to the United Nations.
Officials say this is
all tragic for a country where one-third of the population – or nearly 16
million people – needed humanitarian assistance before the latest violence.
The U.N. refugee
agency, UNHCR, said Thursday that between 10,000 and 20,000 Sudanese have fled
this week into neighboring Chad. The U.N.’s Dieng said his office has also
received reports of people arriving in South Sudan and at the border area
between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Calls for dialogue
The fighting between
the army and RSF broke out after months of rising tensions over the country’s
political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.
Calls to end the
fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the
African Union, the Arab League and IGAD.
The presidents of
Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti say they plan to travel to Sudan in the coming
days to hold discussions with the leaders.
But Sudan's two top
generals have yet to express a willingness to negotiate, and each has demanded
the other's surrender.
The clashes are part of
a power struggle between Burhan, who also heads Sudan’s ruling military
council, and Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the council. The
two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional
government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar
al-Bashir.
The restructuring of
the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and
end the political crisis.
VOA
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