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Sudan unrest: Army agrees to three-day truce starting Friday

Friday, 21 April 2023 6:15 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 21 April 2023 6:18 PM ]

A destroyed military vehicle is seen in southern in Khartoum, Sudan. (Photo by AP)

Sudan’s army said it has agreed to a three-day truce starting on Friday to allow people to celebrate the Eid Al-Fitr, after almost a week of fighting between its troops and a rival paramilitary force.

“The armed forces hope that the rebels will abide by all the requirements of the truce and stop any military moves that would obstruct it,” an army statement said on Friday.

However, following the army’s announcement, media reports quoted witnesses hearing heavy firing in the capital Khartoum.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) had agreed to the 72-hour truce earlier in the day.

Drone footage showed several plumes of smoke across Khartoum and its Nile sister cities, together with one of Africa's biggest urban areas.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the almost week-long fight has killed at least 330 people and wounded 3,200 more, mainly in the capital and the west of Sudan.

At least five aid workers have been killed, including three from the World Food Programme, which has suspended its Sudan operation.

The situation has tipped the continent's third-largest country, where about a quarter of people already relied on food aid, into a humanitarian disaster.

Sudanese medics have warned of a catastrophic healthcare situation, especially in Khartoum where many hospitals were apparently caught in the crossfire.

Deaths top 300 as intense fighting enters sixth day in Sudan

The conflict has dashed hopes for progress toward democracy in Sudan, risks drawing in its neighbors.

The conflict stems from a power struggle between Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF, over a plan to integrate the paramilitary fighters into the regular military.

Burhan heads a ruling council installed after the 2021 military coup and the 2019 ouster of long-time ruler Omar al-Bashir, while Hemedti, who analysts say may command more than 100,000 fighters, was his deputy on the council.

The fighting has derailed the latest internationally backed plan for a transition to a civilian government in Sudan, four years after the fall of President Omar al-Bashir and two years after a military coup.

The conflict has dashed hopes for progress toward democracy in Sudan, and risks drawing in its neighbors. Sudan sits strategically between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Africa's volatile Sahel region.

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