Representatives of the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah Al-Bourhane, and those of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, have agreed to a ceasefire. This truce “will come into effect at 9:45 p.m. Khartoum time [8:45 p.m. in Paris] on May 22”, and will last “seven days”, announced on Saturday May 20, the United States and Saudi Arabia, in a joint press release.
It “could be extended with the agreement of both parties”, noted the text released by the US State Department. According to him, the belligerents have “agreed to facilitate the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid, restore essential services and withdraw troops from hospitals and essential public infrastructure”.
“Both parties have expressed (…) their commitment not to seek any military advantage during the forty-eight hour notification period after the signing of the agreement and before the start of the ceasefire. “, underlined Washington and Riyadh. He added: “Following talks are expected to focus on additional steps needed to improve security and humanitarian conditions for civilians.” »
Heavy fighting in Khartoum
Hopes for a truce come amid heavy fighting in Khartoum. Residents of the Sudanese capital reported to Agence France-Presse on Saturday of increasingly violent “air strikes” even causing “the walls of houses to shake”.
For more than a month, the troops of Abdel Fattah Al-Bourhane and Mohammed Hamdan Daglo have been fighting for control of places of power. On Friday, the first appointed three of his followers to the top of the army, dismissing the second from his post as deputy to the council of sovereignty and appointing Malik Agar in his place.
The latter, a former rebel who had signed peace with the power of Khartoum in 2020, announced on Saturday, in a unifying statement, that he wanted to “stop the war and sit down at the negotiating table”. “Sudan’s stability can only be restored by a professional and unified army,” he said, addressing General Daglo.
It was the integration of the FSRs into the army that sounded the death knell for the union between Generals Bourhane and Daglo, since the putsch of 2021, during which they together ousted civilians from power. The fight between the two men plunged Sudan into chaos. Testimonies of occupation of housing, looting and other abuses are multiplying and diplomatic representations have not been spared.
Qatar embassy attacked
Also on Saturday, the Sudanese foreign ministry accused the “RSF militias” of attacking, vandalizing and looting the Qatari embassy in Khartoum, taking computers and vehicles. The Sudanese government had previously accused the paramilitaries of attacking evacuated chancelleries: “the Indian and Korean embassies, the Saudi cultural office, the residence of Swiss diplomats and a Turkish consular section. »
The attack on the Qatari embassy caused no casualties according to Doha, which had already evacuated its staff. The Qatari foreign ministry denounced her, saying her representation had been “stormed and vandalized” by “irregular armed forces”.
After a month of fighting, which left more than a thousand dead and more than a million displaced and refugees, food is becoming increasingly scarce and the Sudanese agri-food industry is on its knees. More than one in two Sudanese needs humanitarian aid and the UN has announced that it will release 22 million dollars (around 20.3 million euros) from an emergency fund to help those who have fled to the countries bordering; nearly a quarter of this sum will be used to meet the needs of more than 110,000 people who have found refuge in Egypt, the big neighbor to the North, hit by a serious economic crisis.
While neighboring countries fear contagion, the United States announced on Friday aid of $103 million for Sudan and these states to deal with the humanitarian crisis.
“Oversight Mechanism”
Several truces announced in the past have been broken since the clashes broke out on April 15. “It is well known that the parties have previously announced ceasefires which have not been respected. Unlike previous ceasefires, the agreement reached in Jeddah was signed by the parties and will be backed by a monitoring mechanism supported by the United States, Saudi Arabia and the international [community]. communicated.
The announcement comes two weeks after representatives of the two generals first met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to negotiate. They pledged on May 11 to respect humanitarian principles and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid. But the UN chief for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, on Thursday deplored “significant and flagrant violations of this declaration, which have taken place since its signing”.
Asked about the Jeddah talks following the Arab League summit in the Saudi city on Friday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Ben Farhan said the goal was “to reach a truce that allows the Sudanese civilians to breathe”.
