Will the new truce in Sudan this time be respected? Representatives of the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, have agreed to a week-long ceasefire, announced the United States and Saudi Arabia in a joint statement.
This “could be extended with the agreement of both parties”, indicates this document released by the US State Department on Saturday evening. According to him, they “agreed to facilitate the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid, restore essential services and withdraw troops from hospitals and essential public infrastructure”. This ceasefire “will come into effect at 9:45 p.m. Khartoum time on May 22”, will last “seven days”, the statement said.
Riyadh and Washington want to believe it this time
“Both parties have expressed (…) their commitment not to seek any military advantage during the 48-hour notification period after the signing of the agreement and before the start of the ceasefire”, emphasizes Washington and Riyadh. And to add: “It is expected that subsequent talks will focus on additional measures necessary to improve security and humanitarian conditions for civilians. »
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”, recognize Riyadh and Washington. But, “unlike previous ceasefires, the agreement reached in Jeddah was signed by the parties and will be backed by a ceasefire monitoring mechanism backed by the United States, Saudi Arabia and (the international community “.
The announcement comes two weeks after representatives of the two embattled 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 head of the United Nations for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths deplored Thursday “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 bin Farhane said the goal was “to reach a truce that allows Sudanese civilians to blow”. Since April 15, the fighting has left nearly a thousand dead and more than a million displaced and refugees.