The US announces that the RSF and the Sudanese Army have agreed to a three-day ceasefire

24 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Response Forces (RSF) have agreed, after “intense” negotiations mediated by the United States, a 72-hour ceasefire starting tonight, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“During this period, the United States urges the Rapid Response Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces to respect the ceasefire immediately and in its entirety,” it said in a brief statement published by the State Department.

Blinken has specified that Washington “will coordinate with regional and international partners, as well as civilian stakeholders to help create a committee” to oversee the “permanent cessation of hostilities” and humanitarian assistance.”

The agreement was subsequently confirmed by the RSF paramilitaries, which on their official Twitter profile have stated their “full willingness to cooperate, coordinate and provide all the facilities that allow expatriates and diplomatic missions to leave the country safely.”

“We affirm our commitment during the declared armistice period and warn against continued violations by the second party (the Sudanese Army) in the breach (of it),” it added in a statement.

This comes shortly after the Sudanese Army reported that the assistant to the Egyptian military attache in Khartoum has died “by the bullets of the rebel militias”, information that, however, has been denied by the Egyptian authorities.

“The Egyptian ambassador in Khartoum, Hany Salá, confirms that all members of the Egyptian diplomatic mission are safe, including those who work in the defense office,” the Embassy said in a statement, according to Al Ahram.

The Sudanese Armed Forces have also accused the RSF during the day of “targeting” citizens, destroying their houses and “engaging in big battles in residential neighbourhoods”, using civilians as shields.

The hostilities broke out in the context of an increase in tensions around the integration of the RSF –led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias ‘Hemedti’, who is also vice president of the Sovereign Transition Council– within the Forces Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and reactivate the transition.