The Sudanese army said that the leaders of the two sides of the conflict in Sudan had agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire, following appeals made by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to them regarding the raging battles in Khartoum, which witnessed an incident of shooting at an American diplomatic convoy.
Lieutenant General Shams al-Din Kabbashi, a member of the ruling Sovereignty Council, told Al-Arabiya TV that the ceasefire will start at 6:00 pm local time (16:00 GMT) and will not exceed the agreed-upon twenty-four hours.
Blinken made a phone call to both the commander of the Sudanese army and the commander of the “rapid support” forces, whose struggle for power led to the deaths of at least 185 people and obstructed internationally supported efforts to transition to civilian rule after decades of tyranny and military rule.
The commander of the “rapid support” forces, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemeti”, whose whereabouts have not been revealed since the fighting began, said that the paramilitary forces had agreed to a “24-hour truce to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of the wounded.” Hemedti added on Twitter that he and Blinken had discussed “pressing issues” by phone and that further talks were planned. He said that the “rapid support” forces issued a statement saying that they are engaged in a continuous battle to restore “the rights of our people.”
For its part, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors said that 180 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the clashes in the country. And it warned in a statement that with the continuation of the fighting between the two parties to the conflict, the rates of deaths and injuries are increasing at an exponential pace, and warns of unforeseen consequences of heavy losses.
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