Sudanese warring generals agree to week-long ceasefire, South Sudan says

The two rival generals fighting in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day ceasefire starting Thursday and will appoint representatives for peace talks, said South Sudan’s foreign ministry, which has been working with other neighboring countries to negotiate an end to a conflict. that has sent more than 100,000 refugees across their borders in a matter of weeks.

However, there was no immediate public confirmation that an agreement had been reached from both sides in the conflict between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhanand the paramilitaries Fast support troopsdirected by Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan. And no date has yet been set for negotiations to begin, South Sudan’s foreign ministry added in a statement.

The United Nations has also pushed for peace talks and a spokesman, Farhan Haq, was cautious about South Sudan’s statement on Tuesday. Mr Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said at a briefing: “We would certainly welcome any lasting, meaningful ceasefire. We will of course first have to see whether this is accepted by all parties and whether it is implemented by the armed forces on the ground.”

Having the fights persisted despite previous ceasefires and threatens to undermine regional stability. More than 300,000 people are internally displaced, in addition to more than 100,000 who have fled, mainly to Chad, South Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic, according to figures released by UN agencies on Tuesday.

The UN refugee agency also warned that by the end of this year, more than 800,000 people could try to escape from Sudan to the seven countries bordering the north-east African country – many of them already reeling from a host of their own economic, political and refugee crises.

More than 500 people have been killed and more than 4,000 injured in the latest conflict in Sudan, according to the World Health Organization.

Neighboring South Sudan was one of the first countries to offer to mediate between the two warring factions, with President Salva Kiir offering to host alongside his Egyptian counterpart, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. South Sudan is part of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development, a regional bloc of eight countries that includes Sudan. And Sudanese political factions have done so in the past convened in South Sudan for power-sharing talks and ending the protracted conflict in Darfur and other regions.

On Tuesday, the regional bloc said in a statement it was “extremely pleased” to see that both General al-Burhan and General Hamdan “are convinced that dialogue is the best and only option to address grievances and not war.”

The outbreak of violence in Sudan has dashed residents’ hopes for a transition to civilian democratic rule. a military coup in 2021.

On Tuesday morning, residents in parts of the capital Khartoum reported intense clashes and heavy shelling during the previous night. Many residents are without electricity and are concerned about the shortage of food and water. Given the deteriorating situation, the United Nations said it was preparing for a mass exodus from Sudan, a country of more than 45 million people that was already facing serious humanitarian crises before the latest fighting.

“We hope it doesn’t come to that,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN refugee agency’s high commissioner. said in a statement“but if the violence does not stop, we will see more people fleeing Sudan in search of safety.”

More than 334,000 people were also internally displaced persons in 14 of Sudan’s 18 states, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

The UN forecasts that more than 800,000 people could flee during the rest of this year were released after consultations with the governments of the seven countries surrounding Sudan: the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan. -Sudan.

So far, more than 30,000 people have arrived in Chad, which has already taken in 400,000 refugees from Sudan. many of whom have fled fighting in the western region of Darfur. More than 20,000 people have also arrived in South Sudan, said Raouf Mazou, the assistant high commissioner for operations at the UN refugee agency. Egypt had also taken in about 14,000 people since fighting began on April 15, Mr Mazou said.

The fighting was fiercest in major cities such as Khartoum and Omdurman, but also spread to Darfur. Many Sudanese worry that clashes in major cities will increase as foreign governments finalize evacuation plans for their citizens and diplomatic personnel.

Sudan was home to 1.3 million refugees from several neighboring countries, as well as Syria, before the latest violence erupted. Many moved to the big cities in search of work and help from aid organizations. But a protracted fight means aid agencies will be forced to halt or limit those operations.

Several aid organizations have already suspended their activities in the country or have their local employees walk in slimmed-down outfits. That said the World Food Program on Monday resume its services in Sudan, weeks after it halted operations following the deaths of three personnel.

The United Nations has predicted that a majority of refugees fleeing violence in Sudan will be Sudanese nationals, but more than 200,000 South Sudanese refugees are also expected to return home in even more difficult conditions, the agency said.

Humanitarian organizations have started drawing up contingency plans to receive refugees in neighboring countries. But aid officials say the locations face major challenges, including volatile security and difficult supply chains.

As the number of refugees grows, aid agencies will also need more money, staff and supplies, said Allison Huggins, deputy regional director for Africa at Mercy Corps, a nongovernmental organization.

“This conflict would have catastrophic consequences not only for Sudan, but also for neighboring countries,” Ms Huggins said. “Any prolonged period of insecurity would have far-reaching consequences for the region, impacting the economy and the growing refugee population.”