The five-day extension of the ceasefire between Sudan’s military and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), was announced in a joint statement late on Monday by Saudi Arabia and the United States.
“The extension will provide time for further humanitarian assistance, restoration of essential services, and discussion of a potential longer-term extension,” the statement said.
The development came as both sides were under pressure to extend the shaky ceasefire which was due to end on Monday.
Earlier, residents told AFP news agency they could hear street battles in northern Khartoum as well as artillery fire in the south of the capital of over five million people that has been turned into a deadly war zone, as calls to arms stoked fears the conflict will intensify.
In a joint statement on Sunday, the United States and Saudi Arabia signaled impatience with persistent truce violations and called out Sudan’s military and the RSF for specific breaches of a week-long truce, Aljazeera reported.
Sudan descended into chaos after fighting erupted in mid-April between the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The fighting has killed at least 866 civilians and wounded thousands more, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, which tracks civilian casualties. The toll could be much higher, the medical group said.
MP/PR