US, Saudi call Sudan rivals to extend fragile ceasefire
‘While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese,’ says US, Saudi statement; current truce expires at 9:45pm today
The United States and Saudi Arabia called on warring sides in Sudan to extend a fragile cease-fire due to expire on Monday, as weeks of fighting reached a stalemate in the capital and elsewhere in the African country.
The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force, batling for control of Sudan since mid-april, had agreed last week to the week-long truce, brokered by the US and the Saudis.
However, the cease-fire, like others before it, did not stop the fighting in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the US and Saudi Arabia called for an extension of the current truce which expires at 9:45pm local time Monday.
“While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people,” the statement said.
The statement also urged Sudan’s military government and the rival Rapid Support Forces to continue negotiations to reach an agreement on extending the cease-fire.
The fighting broke out in mid-april between the military and the powerful RSF. Both military chief General Abdel-fatah Burhan and RSF leader General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo led the 2021 coup that removed the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
The conflict has killed hundreds of people, wounded thousands and pushed the country to near collapse.
It has forced nearly 1.4 million people out of their homes to safer areas inside Sudan, or to neighboring nations, according to the UN migration agency.
Residents reported renewed sporadic clashes on Sunday in parts of the capital’s adjacent city, Omdurman, where the army’s aircrat were seen flying over the city. Fighting was also reported in Al Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur.
In a separate statement, the US and Saudi Arabia accused both the military and the RSF of violating the cease-fire, saying that such violations “significantly impeded delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services.”
The statement mentioned airstrikes by the military including one that reportedly killed at least two people Saturday in Khartoum.
The RSF also continued to occupy civilian homes, private businesses, and public buildings, and loot some residences.
“Both parties have told facilitators their goal is de-escalation to facilitate humanitarian assistance and essential repairs, yet both parties are posturing for further escalation,” the statement said.
The conflict has come to a stalemate as neither side has been able to deliver a decisive blow to the other ater six weeks of fighting.
In the first two weeks of the war, army airstrikes targeted RSF camps in and outside the capital, crippling the paramilitary force’s bases.
That forced the RSF to deploy in densely populated areas, where they seized people’s houses and other property, and are using them as cover against the military’s airstrikes.
The detention of Dr Alaa Eldin Awad Nogoud, a prominent surgeon and pro-democracy activist, in Omdurman caused an uproar in the country, with medical and rights groups in and outside of Sudan demanding his release.
A group of armed men stormed Nogoud’s home on Sunday and detained him, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate. He was taken to an unknown location, it said.
The Forces of Freedom and Change, the pro-democracy coalition, said the armed men claimed they were members of the military and the intelligence service.
It said Nogoud’s detention was part of a campaign targeting pro-democracy activists, and urged his immediate release.
The development came ater Nogoud told a television station last week that the military seized medical aid provided by the World Health Organisation and stored it at a military hospital in Omdurman, according to local media.
He said that doctors were denied access to the facility when they demanded a share in the aid to other hospitals.
“They were told that permission was needed first to get access,” he said.