Sudan’s military and a rival paramilitary force agreed to extend what had been a largely ineffective truce for an additional 72 hours, as diplomatic efforts pressed ahead to end a conflict that’s tipped the impoverished nation into fresh chaos.
(Bloomberg) — Sudan’s military and a rival paramilitary force agreed to extend what had been a largely ineffective truce for an additional 72 hours, as diplomatic efforts pressed ahead to end a conflict that’s tipped the impoverished nation into fresh chaos.
The decision by the military headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces chief Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was announced late Thursday as an earlier truce brokered at the start of the week was set to expire.
The agreement has been punctured by continued fighting in various parts of the country, underscoring the difficulty of halting violence that’s killed nearly 500 people and wounded thousands in the past fortnight.
Read also: The World Backed Two Generals. Then Sudan Went to War
Efforts to end the fighting that erupted on April 15 have been pushed by a broad spectrum of international and regional powers, as well as the United Nations, the African Union and others. In a statement, the RSF said it voiced “special thanks and appreciation” for the United States and Saudi Arabia for “their continuous support since the outbreak of the crisis in the Sudan.”
Sudan Conflict: Is Nation Heading for Civil War? (Video)
The latest cease-fire is aimed at allowing space for diplomacy and humanitarian efforts. Foreign governments have been scrambling to evacuate their citizens, with many heading by ship to Saudi Arabia or leaving through border crossings in Egypt and Chad.
Click here to listen to our Twitter Space conversation about how the rival Sudanese leaders resisted renewed diplomatic efforts.
The United Kingdom’s government said Thursday vacuation flights may stop at very short notice, and advised its citizens to proceed to Wadi Saeedna airfield as soon as possible to be processed for the flight.
Sudan was already in crisis long before the latest violence flared. As the conflict spread, costs have soared for diminishing supplies of goods and fighting has cut off access to medical help.
Almost 70% of hospitals located near conflict zones are out of service, according to the Sudanese American Physicians Association and the Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union. Ambulances have been attacked and others not allowed to pass to transport patients and deliver medical supplies.
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