On Saturday morning, the sounds of bullets and cannons stopped in the vicinity of the Army Command and the Presidential Palace, which are the same areas that had been witnessing continuous clashes for 6 days.
The two sides exchanged accusations of violating the truce, as army soldiers and gunmen from the Rapid Support Forces exchanged fire in neighborhoods of the capital, even during Eid prayers.
Earlier, drone footage showed a few plumes of smoke across Khartoum and other nearby cities, which together make up one of the largest metropolitan areas in Africa.
The confrontations have claimed hundreds of lives in the capital and mainly in western Sudan, and are pushing the third largest country on the continent of Africa into a humanitarian catastrophe in a country where a quarter of its population already depends on food aid.
The World Health Organization said on Friday that 413 people have died and 3,551 have been injured since fighting broke out in Sudan 6 days ago. At least five aid workers were among the dead.
Eid truce
- Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces said in separate statements that they had agreed to a 3-day truce so that the people of Sudan could celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
- “The armed forces hope that the rebels will abide by all the requirements of the truce and stop any military moves that would obstruct it,” the army statement said.
- US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged combatants to stick to the truce, saying Sudan’s military and civilian leadership must urgently begin negotiations on a sustainable ceasefire to prevent further damage.
- The commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said on Saturday that he had received a phone call from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
- Hemedti added in a post on his Facebook account, “We stressed the need to adhere to the complete ceasefire and provide protection for humanitarian and medical workers, especially the staff of the United Nations and regional and international organizations.”
Opening the airports of Sudan
- The Rapid Support Forces said, on Friday, that it is ready to partially open all of Sudan’s airports so that foreign governments can evacuate their nationals.
- It added in a statement that it “will cooperate, coordinate and provide all facilities that enable expatriates and missions to leave the country safely.”
- It is not clear to what extent the Rapid Support Forces control airports in Sudan.
- Khartoum airport was damaged as a result of the fighting between the two sides, planes were seen burning on the airport runway, and commercial airlines stopped their flights several days ago.
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