The Sudanese Army agreed to extend the truce that ended this Sunday for another three days, after the Rapid Support Force paramilitary group announced its adherence to the ceasefire extension.
The Sudanese Army agreed to extend the truce that ended today for another three days, after the Rapid Support Force paramilitary group announced its adherence to the ceasefire extension and after pressure from the United Nations.
In a statement, the Army refers that, at the request of the Saudi-American mediation, it agreed to extend a truce for more than 72 hours, which “will begin from the end of the current armistice period”, which expires at local midnight (11:00 p.m. in Lisbon).
The note asks the paramilitaries to “comply with the requirements of the truce” and expresses the “full will” of the Armed Forces to respect the ceasefire.
The Sudanese Army’s response comes after the Trilateral Mechanism – which brings together the UN Integrated Mission for Transition Assistance in Sudan, the African Union and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in East Africa – urged the parties belligerents to extend the ceasefire.
The Trilateral Mechanism considers that “this ceasefire should open the way for talks between both parties with a view to establishing a permanent cessation of hostilities.”
The new extension of the truce is the third in three days since the first was announced on Monday.
Sudan today entered the 16th consecutive day of clashes between the Army and the paramilitaries, a conflict that forced some 50,000 Sudanese to move to safer areas of the country or to take refuge in neighboring nations such as South Sudan, Egypt or Chad.
The war has already caused around 530 deaths and more than 4,500 wounded.
The truce that began on Friday was negotiated by the United States and Saudi Arabia to facilitate the evacuation of foreigners and the opening of safe corridors for the entry of humanitarian aid.
The conflict follows weeks of tension over the reform of the security forces in negotiations to form a new transitional government.
Both the Army and the Rapid Support Force were behind the coup that overthrew Sudan’s transitional government in October 2021.
Source: Observadora
