Khartoum sees cautious calm hours before new cease-fire comes into force

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday morning witnessed a cautious calm hours before a new cease-fire is expected to take place between the Sudanese warring parties.

Since mid-April, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been exchanging heavy fire, accusing each other of starting assaults.

According to an Anadolu reporter on the ground, heavy clashes were heard on Sunday night in several areas across Khartoum, including central Khartoum, the northern Bahri area, and Omdurman western Khartoum.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced that a new 7-day cease-fire has been agreed upon by the Sudanese rival groups starting as of Monday evening.

Saudi Arabia said that talks in Jeddah city will continue with the aim to reach a permanent cease-fire and a conflict resolution through dialogue.

Medical sources estimate that nearly 1,000 people have been killed during the war that erupted on April 15 between the Sudanese army and RSF.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF over the paramilitary group’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

Sudan's transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar