KHARTOUM: A seven-day ceasefire from May 4 has been agreed to by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the two warring factions in Sudan, according to a statement by the foreign ministry of South Sudan on Tuesday.
Representatives will be sent by the two sides for peace talks to be held at an agreed venue of their choice, the statement added.
However, official channels of the SAF or RSF are both yet to comment on the report. A question mark hangs over the announcement, with previous ceasefires failing to stop the fighting between the rival factions in various parts of the country.
Failed negotiations between the head of the Sudanese army Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had led to intense clashes between both sides in the middle of April. These clashes sparked a mass exodus of refugees from the conflict-ridden country and at least 528 people have reportedly died as a result.
The announcement on Tuesday came after the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) warned that more than 800,000 people may flee from key ports in Sudan to neighboring countries, as the ongoing violence is blocking evacuation convoys.
According to reports, an estimated 73,000 people have already fled Sudan to neighboring countries.
Moreover, with Western powers stepping in to evacuate their own citizens, thousands of foreign nationals have escaped the country.
Meanwhile, thousands of local families have been forced to risk perilous journeys from the capital Khartoum as they were left to fend for themselves.
With many locals remaining trapped in their homes, water, food, medicine and electricity shortages are increasing the risk of a humanitarian crisis, even as relief organizations are giving priority to distribution of medical aid to hospitals caught up in the conflict.
Last week, violence flared up in West Darfur, with attacks against civilians in the city of El Geneina continuing till Tuesday. Having been in key roles in the counterinsurgency operations against rebels in the region’s civil war that began in 2003, both warring generals Burhan and Dagalo have a history in the area,.
While Burhan controlled the Sudanese army in Darfur, Dagalo was the commander of the Janjaweed, one of the many Arab militias which was involved in human rights violations and atrocities.
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