Violence subsides in Khartoum after rival armies agree on truce extension
Monitors from Saudi Arabia and US say aid is being delivered to Sudanese
Violence subsided in Khartoum on Tuesday after rival military factions battling for more than six weeks agreed to extend a ceasefire aimed at allowing aid to reach Sudanese civilians.
The regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces agreed to extend a week-long ceasefire deal by five days just before it was due to expire late on Monday.
The truce was brokered and is being remotely monitored by Saudi Arabia and the US, who said it had been violated by both sides but had still allowed for the delivery of aid to an estimated 2 million people.
“We hope this truce succeeds even if only to stop the war a little and that we can return to our normal lives. We have hope in the truce and we don’t have other options,” said Hind Saber, 53, who lives in Khartoum. Army leader Gen. Abdel Fattah AlBurhan appeared in video footage on Tuesday greeting troops. He said the army had agreed to the ceasefire extension to ease citizens’ access to services.
“The army hasn’t used its full deadly power, but it will be forced to do so if the enemy does not obey or
listen to the voice of reason,” he said. Hours before the ceasefire extension was signed, there was intensive fighting in the adjoining cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri. Areas of the capital have been hit by widespread looting and frequent cuts to power and water supplies. Most hospitals have been put out of service. The UN, aid agencies and embassies have moved operations to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where there has been little unrest.
The Red Sea state’s security committee said on Tuesday it had caught several “rebellious” sleeper cells that it said had sneaked in from outside, and warned that they were planning activities. “We thank the citizens of Red Sea state for their total cooperation and for immediately reporting the presence of these rebellious elements and their agents within their neighborhoods,” it said.