Warring Factions in Sudan Agree to Extend Armistice, But Fighting Continues

Illustration of the evacuation of US citizens from Sudan. (Wikimedia Commons/SSgt Robert L. Fisher III)

JAKARTA - Two warring factions in Sudan said on Thursday they would extend a 72-hour ceasefire agreement, but violence has resumed in the capitals Khartoum and Darfur, as the United States said violations of the ceasefire were alarming.

Hundreds of people have died and tens of thousands fled for their lives in two weeks of conflict between the army and its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Together, they overthrew the civilian government in an October 2021 coup but are now caught up in a power struggle that has derailed the transition to an internationally supported democracy, threatening to destabilize the fragile region.

The army on Wednesday said it had agreed to a new three-day ceasefire until Sunday, after the previous truce was set to expire on Thursday evening. On Thursday, the military confirmed it would extend the ceasefire and said it would respect it unilaterally.

Responding for the first time, RSF said on Thursday it had also agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire starting Friday.

The news was welcomed by the United Nations, the African Union, the African trade bloc IGAD, as well as the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

"We also welcome their readiness to engage in dialogue towards a more durable cessation of hostilities and ensuring unhindered humanitarian access," they said in a joint statement.

The army says it controls most of Sudan and defeated a large RSF deployment in Khartoum, where several residential areas have turned into war zones.

Despite a lull in fighting since the first 72-hour ceasefire began, airstrikes and anti-aircraft fire were heard Thursday in the capital and nearby towns of Omdurman and Bahri, witnesses and Reuters journalists said.

Separately, the White House said it was deeply concerned by the breach of the ceasefire. It said the situation could worsen at any time and urged US citizens to leave within 24 to 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the fighting has spread to the vast Darfur region, where conflict has simmered since civil war erupted two decades ago.

The Darfur Bar Association, a rights group, said at least 52 people were killed in attacks by heavily armed "militias" on residential neighborhoods in the city of El Geneina, as well as the main hospital, main market, government building and several shelters for internally displaced persons.

It is known, so far about 512 people have been killed and nearly 4.200 injured as a result of fighting in Sudan since April 15. Meanwhile, the Sudanese Doctors' Union said 60 of 86 hospitals in the conflict zone had stopped operating.

Many foreigners remain stuck in Sudan even though thousands have been evacuated. Meanwhile, Sudanese civilians who were struggling to get food, water and fuel, rushed out of Khartoum.

Friction has existed for months between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which staged a coup in 2021, two years after a popular uprising that toppled long-ruling Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir.