RSF fighters in Sudan consent to a 72-hour cease-fire for the Eid holiday
-
Raven Ruma
- . April 21, 2023
- . Update: April 21, 2023 4:26 pm
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of Sudan said that it had consented to a 72-hour ceasefire beginning at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Friday, to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr, on humanitarian grounds.
Earlier on Friday, bombing and shelling shook the capital, Khartoum. The army made no quick comments, and General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan avoided mentioning a cease-fire in a speech that was pre-recorded and posted on the army’s Facebook page.
According to a statement made by the RSF, the cease-fire “coincides with the blessed Eid Al-Fitr… to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to greet their families.”
Four years after the fall of Islamist despot Omar Al-Bashir to widespread protests and two years after a military coup, fighting broke out between the RSF and the Sudanese army on Saturday, derailing a plan for a transition to a civilian democracy that was approved by the international community.
The RSF asserted that it had to take action in “self-defense” to thwart what it called a coup attempt and added that it was dedicated to a “complete cease-fire” during the armistice period.
Read | Will violence in Sudan trigger a refugee crisis?
The power battle between army head Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, two formerly associated leaders of the reigning military junta, has resulted in at least 350 fatalities.
The violence has crushed aspirations for Sudan’s democratic transition, runs the risk of involving its neighbors, and may increase rivalry between Russia and the United States in the area.
Earlier, the RSF had denounced the military for what it claimed were further assaults.
In a statement released early on Friday, the RSF stated that “at this time, when citizens are preparing to receive the first day of Eid Al-Fitr, the neighborhoods of Khartoum are waking up to the bombings of aircrafts and heavy artillery in a sweeping attack that is directly targeting residential neighborhoods.”
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a plea for a cease-fire so that civilians may get to safety.
On Thursday, thousands of citizens fled Khartoum as gunfire and explosions could be heard. Several thousand people entered Chad to escape fighting in Darfur’s western area.
A group of medics reported that on Thursday in El-Obeid, a city west of Khartoum, at least 26 people were murdered and 33 injured. There, witnesses reported fighting between army and RSF troops as well as rampant looting.
After electronically meeting with the leaders of the African Union, Arab League, and other organizations on Thursday, Guterres addressed the media and said: “There was a strong consensus on condemning ongoing fighting in Sudan and calling for cessation of hostilities as an immediate priority.”
He called for a three-day cease-fire, arguing that populations entrapped in combat areas should be given the opportunity to flee and seek out medical attention, food, and other supplies.
Burhan stated that he would be in favor of a ceasefire as long as it enabled people to walk around freely, something the RSF, in his opinion, had blocked. He added that he had “no other option but the military solution” and that he did not have a partner for negotiations.
His adversary Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, declared that he was prepared to enact a three-day ceasefire. Dagalo has stated numerous times that he is in favor of brief cease-fires, but each one has rapidly fallen apart.
