Sudan's factions agree to extend cease-fire

By Firdevs Bulut Kartal

TORONTO (AA) - Representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) signed a five-day extension to a May 20 agreement on a short-term cease-fire to provide more time for humanitarian actors to carry out their vital work, the US and Saudi Arabia announced Monday.

"The parties affirmed their intention to use the five-day extension to implement provisions of the first cease-fire that were not fully achieved, including further deliveries of humanitarian assistance, facilitation of essential services repair, and evacuation of armed actors from hospitals," the US Embassy in Khartoum said on Twitter.

The US and Saudi Arabia, as the joint facilitators of the cease-fire, “condemned continued airstrikes, attacks, and prohibited movements, urging that the parties honor their obligations to refrain from those acts during the five-day extension," it said.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF also agreed to discuss a longer-term cease-fire that could entail vacating forces from urban areas and civilian homes. It could also include the removal of hindrances to the free movement of civilians and humanitarian aid and enable public servants to resume their duties.

Welcoming the extension to the cease-fire, Saudi Arabia and the US reminded the parties that it is their responsibility to adhere to their obligations under the May 20 short-term cease-fire agreement and the preceding Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan.

- Conflict in Sudan and cease-fire

On April 15, fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and the RSF in the capital Khartoum and its surroundings. More than 600 people have been killed and thousands injured.

Disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the Sudanese army and the RSF over the RSF's integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

Sudan's transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.