KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan’s military has indicated its readiness to prolong the existing, fragile ceasefire by an additional 72 hours, despite ongoing skirmishes with the rival Rapid Support Forces, RSF, near the capital, Khartoum.
Late on Wednesday, the army announced that its chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had initially endorsed a proposal to extend the truce, which is set to lapse late Thursday, April 27, 2023.
The proposed extension will facilitate the dispatch of a military envoy to Juba, the capital of South Sudan, for negotiations.
However, the RSF has yet to respond to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s, IGAD, overture. The IGAD is a regional bloc that has been working towards a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The military’s statement on Thursday, April 27, 2023, credited the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya, and Djibouti for their roles in developing a proposal that includes extending the ceasefire and facilitating talks between the two forces. “Burhan expressed initial approval to that,” it said, acknowledging the IGAD’s contribution.
Meanwhile, in the international sphere, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat have been exploring collaborative strategies to quell the Sudanese conflict, according to a statement issued by the U.S. State Department on Wednesday, April 26, 2023.
The African Union’s leadership is deemed “essential in pressing the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to immediately cease military operations and allow unhindered humanitarian access,” the statement added.
Tensions escalated in Omdurman, a city adjacent to Khartoum, where some of Wednesday’s most intense battles took place. The army has been engaging with RSF reinforcements from other regions of Sudan, Reuters reported.
AFP also detailed sightings of warplanes over the northern suburbs of Khartoum, attracting heavy anti-aircraft fire from the paramilitaries. In the south, there were reports of machine-gun fire near the residence of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti.
The violence began on April 15 and has claimed at least 512 lives due to air raids and artillery attacks, with thousands more injured and hospitals in ruins.
Desperate residents, some on foot, seek to escape the unrest as they grapple with food, water, and other essential supplies shortages.
Sudan’s turmoil has exacerbated the country’s humanitarian crisis, where even before the conflict, a third of the nation’s 46 million people relied on aid. The unfolding situation poses a significant threat to regional stability and underscores the urgency of a diplomatic solution.
