By Khalid Abdelaziz, Nafisa Eltahir and Humeyra Pamuk
KHARTOUM (Reuters) -Sudan’s rival commanders agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire from Tuesday evening, after pressure from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken over fighting that has engulfed the capital Khartoum and saw shots fired at a U.S. diplomatic convoy.
The conflict between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy broke out four days ago, triggering what the United Nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. At least 185 people have been killed in the fighting across the country.
The ceasefire was due to start at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) and will not extend beyond the agreed 24 hours, Army General Shams El Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s ruling military council, said on al Arabiya TV.
Early on Tuesday, gunfire echoed across the capital Khartoum accompanied by the sound of warplanes and explosions. Residents in the neighbouring cities of Omdurman and Bahri reported air strikes that shook buildings and anti-aircraft fire. Fighting also raged in the west of the country, the United Nations said.
In video verified by Reuters, fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) opposing the army could be seen inside a section of the army headquarters in Khartoum. The fighters did not appear to control the sprawling site, a Reuters reporter in the capital said.
Fighting appeared to tail off close to the deadline for the ceasefire, which coincided with the evening breaking of the daily fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Blinken, speaking in Japan, said he had telephoned both army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, of the RSF, appealing for the 24-hour ceasefire “to allow the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families” and to provide them with relief.
Burhan heads a ruling council installed after a 2021 military coup and the 2019 ouster of veteran autocratic president Omar Bashir during mass protests. Hemedti is Burhan’s deputy on the ruling council.
Their power struggle has derailed an internationally-backed plan to shift to civilian democratic rule after decades of autocracy and military control in Sudan, which sits at a strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile Sahel region.
Unless controlled, the violence also risks drawing in actors from Sudan’s neighbourhood who have backed different factions, and could play into competition for regional influence between Russia and the United States.
U.S. FLAGS
Blinken said the U.S. convoy was attacked despite its vehicles being marked with diplomatic license plates and bearing U.S. flags. Initial reports suggest the attack was undertaken by RSF-associated forces, he said, calling the action “reckless”. Blinken said all U.S. personnel were safe after the incident.
After the call, Hemedti said the RSF approved the ceasefire to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of the wounded.
In a post on Twitter, he said he and Blinken “discussed pressing issues” and more talks were planned. The RSF issued a statement saying it was waging a battle to restore “the rights of our people” in what it called a new revolution.
Hemedti’s whereabouts have not been disclosed since fighting began.
A previous, shorter ceasefire agreed for Sunday was not fully observed. Artillery volleys, strikes by combat aircraft and street fighting have made it almost impossible to travel in Khartoum, trapping residents and foreigners in their homes.
The main international airport has been under attack, halting commercial flights.
Fighters have attacked aid workers, hospitals and diplomats, including a European Union ambassador assaulted in his home. Three workers for the World Food Programme were killed in the fighting on Saturday, and a U.N. plane was hit in crossfire at Khartoum’s international airport.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was nearly impossible to provide humanitarian services around the capital. It warned that Sudan’s health system was at risk of breakdown.
“I want to be very clear: All parties must ensure unrestricted and safe access to health facilities for those injured and everyone in need of medical care,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a media briefing in Geneva.
REGIONAL TENSION
The outbreak of fighting followed rising tensions over a plan for the RSF’s integration into the regular military.
Discord over the timetable for that process delayed the signing of the framework deal to launch a civilian transition that was due to be signed earlier this month.
Underscoring the risk to regional stability, army general Kabbashi said two neighbouring countries were attempting to provide aid to the RSF. He did not identify the countries.
The fighting has affected several parts of the country since Saturday, including the western desert region of Darfur, which borders Chad and suffered warfare from 2003 that killed as many as 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million.
The RSF emerged from the janjaweed militia that fought alongside Bashir’s government forces in Darfur before the conflict ended with a 2020 peace agreement.
The United Nations reported that at least 65 people have been killed in Darfur since Saturday, including in clashes involving heavy artillery.
Eight people had been killed in Nyala, one of Sudan’s largest cities, located in South Darfur, the U.N. said. The city also saw extensive looting of NGOs, businesses and hospitals, it said in a statement, adding that shooting was ongoing.
(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum, Nafisa Eltahir and Hatem Maher in Cairo, Humeyra Pamuk in Tokyo and Claudia Tanos in Dubai; writing by Frank Jack Daniel; editing by Christina Fincher and Mark Heinrich)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.