A new ceasefire between the conflicting parties in Sudan came into force on Tuesday, mediated by the United States. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that the Sudanese army and the paramilitary RSF militia had agreed on a three-day nationwide ceasefire from midnight after “intensive negotiations”.
Both the army and the RSF militia confirmed their approval of the agreement.
Blinken called on both sides to observe the ceasefire “immediately and completely” during this period. The United States also wanted to work for a “permanent end to the fighting,” said the Secretary of State.
Ceasefire to establish humanitarian corridors
To this end, Washington will coordinate with “regional and international partners” as well as civilian representatives in Sudan to support the establishment of a committee to negotiate an end to the violence. Basically, the goal is for a civilian government to take power again in the north-east African country, stressed Biden.
The army said on the online network Facebook that it would abide by the ceasefire if the RSF militia did the same. The RSF militia, for its part, tweeted that the ceasefire aims to establish humanitarian corridors – both for residents’ access “to vital resources, medical supplies and safe zones” and for further evacuations of diplomatic missions in the country.
According to the UN, more than 400 people have been killed and more than 3,700 injured in the fighting between the army and the RSF militia that has been going on for ten days. Several agreed ceasefires were broken. In large parts of the country there is a lack of water, electricity, food, medicine and fuel. Several evacuation missions are currently underway for foreign nationals, including those from Germany, and for numerous UN employees.
Further evacuation flights are being prepared
Since Saturday, more than 4,000 people have been brought to safety as part of the operations. The Bundeswehr also took part in the evacuations: Since Sunday evening, they have fetched around 400 people from the north-east African country in four flights, including members of the German embassy.
A fourth German evacuation flight followed on Monday, according to the Bundeswehr. The machine was therefore on the way from Khartoum to Jordan in the evening. The federal government initially did not provide information on the nationality of the inmates.
The federal government is also preparing further evacuation flights for the coming days. After the end of the ceasefire on Monday, however, these plans were initially fraught with uncertainties. “There are still other Germans on site,” said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). However, it is “more than uncertain” whether the security situation will allow further evacuations in the next few days.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that violence in Sudan “could spread across the region and beyond”. Guterres told the UN Security Council: “We must do everything in our power to pull Sudan off the brink.”
Meanwhile, the US has expressed concern that the Russian Wagner mercenary group could exacerbate the conflict in Sudan. “We are very concerned about the use of the Prigozhin Group – the Wagner Group – in Sudan,” said Foreign Minister Blinken, referring to the founder and head of the mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Wherever the Wagner group appears, they bring “more death and destruction,” said Blinken. The Russian mercenary force not only fights in support of the Russian army in its war of aggression against Ukraine, but is also active on the African continent. According to media reports, Wagner has already delivered weapons to the RSF militia. (AFP)
