AP Photo
Guwahati, Apr 25: A US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan’s warring generals officially came into effect Tuesday after 10 days of urban combat killed hundreds, wounded thousands and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the agreement first and said the truce deal followed two days of intense negotiations.
He said the US would coordinate with regional, international and Sudanese civilian interests to create a committee that would oversee work on a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian arrangements.
The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) said on its Facebook page that it also agreed to the truce deal. A coalition of Sudanese civil society groups that had been part of negotiations on a transition to democracy welcomed the news.
Fighting erupted between the SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group on 15 April and has killed at least 427 people, knocked out hospitals and other services, and turned residential areas into war zones.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council is expected to meet today to discuss the escalating conflict in Sudan.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said that the violence in a country that flanks the Red Sea, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions “risks a catastrophic conflagration ... that could engulf the whole region and beyond”.