A 72-hour ceasefire concluded in Sudan between the belligerents under the aegis of the United States is generally respected this Tuesday, April 25 in Khartoum, after 10 days of fighting which left hundreds dead and pushed dozens of thousands of inhabitants at the start.
In Khartoum, explosions and gunfire were rare until midday when, as with every truce announcement, the paramilitaries of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, accused the army of rival General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane , to continue to fly over Khartoum.
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On the other hand, it was impossible to know immediately if the violent fighting which had raged in the vast region of Darfur, in western Sudan, since the start of hostilities on April 15 had decreased in intensity.
France evacuated 538 people from Sudan, including 209 French
More than 420 people have been killed and thousands injured since mid-April in Sudan, according to the UN, but “after intense negotiations”the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) “have agreed to a nationwide ceasefire”said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shortly before the truce came into effect at midnight (22:00 GMT Monday).
Permanent ceasefire?
The army and the paramilitaries confirmed a “truce dedicated to the opening of humanitarian corridors”.
Khaled Omar Youssef, of the Forces of Freedom and Change (FLC), the civilian bloc sacked by the putsch led in 2021 by the two then-allied generals, told AFP that he welcomed “of an American mediation” who established, with the civilians, “contacts with the army and the FSR” in sight “of this humanitarian truce”.
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“It will allow a dialogue on the modalities of a definitive ceasefire”he said, while Antony Blinken said he was working with allies at a « commission » tasked with negotiating the permanent cessation of hostilities in Sudan. The army evoked a mediation “Saudi American”.
The intensity of the fighting in several districts of the capital had in fact decreased since the beginning of the evacuations of foreigners on Saturday.
In other areas, however, clashes have become more destructive in recent days. On videos posted online which could not be immediately authenticated by AFP, burnt shops, crushed buildings and haggard civilians in the middle of the still smoking rubble testify to the violence of the air raids and artillery fire.
Dalia Mohammed fled to Port Sudan on the east coast. “We found ourselves on the street, we became displaced because of something that has nothing to do with us: it only concerns two men and their over-armed troops”she laments.
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Explosions, air raids and shootings have not stopped since April 15 in Khartoum, plunged into chaos. Those who cannot flee try to survive, deprived of water and electricity, subject to food shortages and internet and telephone cuts.
The conflict may“invade the whole region and beyond”warned the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.
The Security Council is due to meet on Tuesday evening to discuss the conflict.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed the truce, urging “both parties to fully respect it”. In the meantime, the departures of foreigners continue.
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Evacuation of nationals
This Tuesday, again, the United Kingdom announced to begin the evacuation of its nationals – three days after that of its diplomats -, in “priority families with children and the elderly or with a health problem”.
More than 1,000 EU nationals were evacuated. Tokyo announced on Tuesday that it had evacuated “all the Japanese who were in Khartoum” and wanted to leave.
Around 700 international staff from the UN, NGOs and embassies “were evacuated to Port Sudan”, the UN said. France, she said she had evacuated 538 people, including 209 French.
Dozens of other humanitarian workers were evacuated to Chad from Darfur in the west, the region most affected by the fighting with Khartoum.
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“As foreigners who can flee, the impact of the violence on an already critical humanitarian situation worsens”warns the UN, whose agencies have suspended their activities.
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Five aid workers have been killed and, according to the doctors’ union, nearly three-quarters of hospitals are out of service.
Monday evening, nearly 200 nationals from a dozen countries landed in Saudi Arabia.
“We made a long trip from Khartoum to Port Sudan. It took us about 10 or 11 hours” Then “another 20 hours on this boat”told AFP the Lebanese Souhaib Aïcha, his little girl in tears in his arms.
And more will follow, told AFP, the captain of one of these shuttles. “My boat can carry up to 2,000 passengers”he said. “And two or three other rotations are planned”.
