May 29. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to a five-day extension of the ceasefire in force, as reported by Saudi Arabia and the United States, which have welcomed the agreement.
“The extension of the armistice in Sudan will give time for more humanitarian aid to arrive and basic services to be restored,” the US State Department’s Bureau for African Affairs has published.
Khartoum, meanwhile, maintains a tense calm despite the fact that the ceasefire agreed upon expired on Monday after the outbreak of clashes between the Armed Forces and the RSF paramilitaries on April 15.
On Sunday Riyadh and Washington called for an extension of the ceasefire agreement despite repeated violations of it. “Recognizing that it was imperfectly respected, we have called on both parties to agree to an extension of the current ceasefire to give humanitarian actors more time to carry out their vital work,” they said in a joint statement published by the US Embassy in Khartoum.
Meanwhile, the country’s main political coalition, the Forces for Freedom and Change, highlighted this Monday that the Jeddah negotiations are a “great achievement”, but they have warned of the need for “a monitoring and observation mechanism, corridors and a peace mission to separate the parties”.
The hostilities, which have left more than 700 dead, broke out on April 15 in the context of an increase in tensions around the integration of the RSF into the Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civilian government and reactivate the open transition after the 2019 overthrow of the then president, Omar Hasan al Bashir, damaged by the October 2021 coup, in which the prime minister of unity, Abdalá Hamdok, was overthrown.
HELP ARRIVES FROM WFP
This Monday the UN World Food Program (WFP) has reported that its first shipment of humanitarian aid has arrived in Khartoum, which has allowed food to reach thousands of affected people who are “trapped” in the country’s capital. Khartoum, since the outbreak of violence.
“This is a huge milestone. We have finally been able to help families stuck in Khartoum, who are struggling to make it through each day because food and basic supplies are in short supply,” said WFP Sudan Director Eddie Rowe.
Rowe has highlighted that a week ago “a window was opened” to be able to send food. “WFP needs to do more, but that depends on the parties to the conflict and realistically guaranteed security and access,” she added.
The WFP has reported that it has delivered aid to 12,445 people in areas controlled by the Armed Forces and the RSF in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city. The distribution began on Saturday and the goal is to reach 500,000 people in the capital.
Food has also been delivered this weekend to 8,000 people in Wadi Halfa, in the north of the country. These are people displaced by the fighting in Khartoum trying to reach Egypt. Last week, WFP already delivered food to 4,000 newly displaced people in Port Sudan.
