Army and rival forces in Sudan agree to temporary truce, after US pressure

First modification: 04/18/2023 – 17:45

After several days of fighting in Sudan, the weapons would be silenced for at least 24 hours.

Starting at 6:00 p.m. local time, this Tuesday, April 18, a ceasefire begins, as agreed by the two commanders who are fighting for power: the Army General, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and General Mohamed Hamdan, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (FAR).

The groups of the two soldiers and former allies in successive coups in recent years – who co-direct the so-called Sovereign Council for the transition to democracy – have been submerged in a spiral of violence since last Saturday, April 15.

The dispute essentially broke out after disagreements over the eventual integration of the FAR into the military institution, as part of an internationally backed plan for the formation of a government with civilian parties.

Since then, shootings, artillery assaults and airstrikes have hit residential areas of Khartoum, the capital, and have spread to other cities. A situation that has so far left more than 185 people dead and at least 1,800 injured, according to figures from the United Nations (UN).

However, the figure may be higher because the fighting has prevented emergency teams from moving to some areas of the country to care for the injured and move the corpses.

The violence has raised the specter of civil war just as the Sudanese were trying to revive the drive for a civil and democratic administration after decades of military rule.

US diplomatic convoy attacked and Blinken intercedes between warring parties

The 24-hour cessation of hostilities comes shortly after the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, communicated separately with each of the generals of the opposing sides.

The highest representative of US diplomacy mediated by telephone for the temporary ceasefire, as the basis for a longer truce and a return to negotiations.

In a series of messages on his Twitter account, the Sudanese Army general confirmed that he approved the brief cessation of hostilities after his conversation with Blinken.

In recent days, the Joe Biden Administration had urged to stop the violence, but the attack on a diplomatic convoy once again turned on alerts in Washington. The event prompted a direct warning from Blinken, who assured the feuding commanders that any danger to his country’s diplomats would not be tolerated.

After the assault, which took place on Monday, April 17 and left no victims, Blinken pointed out that it would have been perpetrated by combatants associated with the Rapid Support Forces, something that he described as a “reckless” and “irresponsible” action.

“I can confirm that yesterday we had a US diplomatic convoy shot at (…) I made it very clear that any dangerous threat of attack posed to our diplomats is totally unacceptable,” said the Secretary of State from Japan, where he is attending a meeting of G7 foreign ministers.

Among the fatalities left by the violence in recent days are three humanitarian workers from the United Nations.

The conditions for a possible extension of the truce and possible negotiations are not yet clear.

The current friction comes to a head after the plan to push for a civilian government broke down. A final pact was scheduled to be signed earlier this month, on the fourth anniversary of the ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

But to do so, both the Army and the FAR were forced to cede power, and two issues were particularly contentious: the timetable for the FAR to integrate into the country’s regular armed forces and determining when the Army would formally be under civilian supervision.

With Reuters and AP