RSF paramilitaries and Sudanese Army accuse each other of breaking 24-hour ceasefire

18 (EUROPA PRESS)

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Army have mutually accused each other of breaking the 24-hour ceasefire decreed between the parties for the evacuation of civilians in the context of the clashes in the country.

“In the first hours of the declared truce, we detected an attack on our forces in some areas of the capital, Khartoum, in the General Command and Eastern Nile regions,” the RSF said in a statement published on its official profile on Twitter.

Likewise, the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, alias ‘Hemedti’, have condemned the “aggressive behavior” of the Sudanese Army at the same time that they have called on the international community to take measures and avoid “new violations of Humanitarian Law “.

For its part, the Sudanese Army has stated in a statement that the 24-hour humanitarian truce has not been complied with by the RSF paramilitaries, which have carried out “skirmishes” in the vicinity of the airport and the general command in Khartoum.

“Our forces of the Fifth Division faced a failed attempt to assault Al Obeid (North Kordofan) and the rebel militia suffered heavy losses,” he said in a statement collected by the SUNA news agency.

The Sudanese Armed Forces previously claimed to have “no record” of a truce as of 6:00 p.m. (local time). The parties maintain the confrontations, which extend to different areas of Khartoum and Darfur, as reported by Sudan Ajbar.

On the other hand, the US Embassy in Sudan has stated on its official Twitter profile that it is “closely” monitoring the situation in Khartoum and the surrounding areas, “where there are clashes, shooting and military activity.”

The fighting broke out on Saturday in the context of an increase in tensions over the reform of the security apparatus and the integration of the paramilitary force within the Armed Forces, a key part of an agreement signed in December to form a new civil government and reactivate the transition.

The talks process began with international mediation after the president of the Sovereign Transitional Council, Abdelfatá al Burhan, led a coup in October 2021 that overthrew the then unity prime minister, Abdalá Hamdok, appointed to the position following of contacts between civilians and the military after the April 2019 coup, which ended 30 years of Omar Hasan al Bashir’s regime.