Sudan warring sides agree to new 72-hour truce, says US

The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to a 72-hour truce starting tonight at midnight.announced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“After intensive negotiations, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to implement a nationwide cease-fire beginning at midnight on April 24, for a duration of 72 hours,” Blinken said in a statement.

The head of U.S. diplomacy urged both sides to respect and immediately implement this arrangementand to negotiate a permanent cessation of hostilities.

Blinken stated that the United States will coordinate with its regional allies to. “support the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiating to implement a permanent cessation of hostilities” in Sudan.

In addition, he reiterated Washington’s commitment to getting the African country back on track with a civilian government.

The Sudanese conflict had a three-day truce for the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.after which fighting and shelling between the Sudanese Army and the FAR resumed on Monday.

Dozens of countries have withdrawn their diplomatic personnel in Sudan over the past few days.including the United States, which also deployed two military ships in the Red Sea on Monday to evacuate U.S. citizens wishing to leave the Arab country.

The fighting that began on April 15 between the Sudanese Army and the FAR followed weeks of tension over a reform of the security forces in negotiations to form a new transitional government.

Both forces were the architects of the coup d’état which overthrew Sudan’s interim executive in October 2021.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, according to a tally offered Friday by the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 413 people have been killed and 3,551 injured in Sudan.

At a press conference earlier Monday, Blinken denounced. the presence in Sudan of the Russian paramilitary group Wagnerwhile his Kenyan counterpart, Alfred Mutua, called on Russia and Middle Eastern nations to support peace and not to get involved in the conflict.