Sudan Rivals Agree to 72-Hour Ceasefire, Says US State Secretary Blinken
Last Updated: April 25, 2023, 02:30 IST
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (File photo/Reuters)
Blinken said that the United States was also working with partners to set up a committee that would negotiate a permanet ceasefire in Sudan
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Sudan’s warring generals had agreed to a three-day ceasefire starting Tuesday after previous earlier attempts to pause the conflict quickly fell apart.
“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours,” US State Department said in a statement quoting Secretary Blinken.
He made the announcement just two hours before the truce was to go into effect.
“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said.
Following intense negotiations, the SAF and RSF have agreed to implement and uphold a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire starting midnight, April 24. We welcome their commitment to work with partners and stakeholders for permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements.— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 24, 2023
Blinken said that the United States was also working with partners to set up a committee that would negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Sudan, where the conflict between rival generals descended into deadly violence 10 days ago.
On Monday, Blinken met with Kenya’s top diplomat in Washington on the peace efforts and held phone conversations with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
These high-level talks came as the death toll in the war-torn country reached 427 on Sunday after nine days of fighting. Besides this, more than 3,700 have been injured, according to the UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA.
Continued clashes in #Sudan are leading to acute shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel. Prices of essential items have skyrocketed.The fighting must stop. People need access to urgent aid and basic services.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) April 24, 2023
At least 11 health facilities have been attacked and many are no longer functioning at all in Khartoum and Darfur states, UN News reported.
The warring factions had worked together since the ousting of long-term ruler Omar al-Bashir, four years ago, carrying out a military coup in a joint operation in 2021 which ended a military-civilian power-sharing agreement.
In recent months as negotiations over a return to civilian rule advanced, the two factions failed to agree to an integration plan, on the road to the formation of a civilian government.
Now, ten days into the conflict, dozens of countries are scrambling to educate their citizens, fearing that Sudan could plunge deeper into chaos.
The United States and multiple European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian nations launched emergency missions to bring to safety their embassy staff and Sudan-based citizens by road, air and sea.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the violence in Sudan — already one of the world’s poorest countries, with a history of military coups — “could engulf the whole region and beyond”.
“We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss,” Guterres said.
(With agency inputs)
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
