Saudi Arabia, US see improvement in cease-fire application in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Saudi Arabia and the United States on Friday said they are witnessing improvement in the application of the ongoing 7-day cease-fire in Sudan.

The statement was made through a joint statement by Saudi Arabia and the US, who brokered a cease-fire that came into force on Monday.

"In their capacity as facilitators, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America noted improved respect for the Agreement on a Short-Term Cease-fire and Humanitarian Arrangements in Sudan on May 25," the joint statement said.

It, however, said there were some breaches to the cease-fire in the previous days through the "use of military aircraft and isolated gunfire in Khartoum."

"The situation improved from May 24 when the cease-fire monitoring mechanism detected significant breaches of the Agreement," it added.

The statement urged "the parties to carry forward the positive progress of May 25 for the remainder of the short-term cease-fire and uphold their commitments under the May 11 Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan."

According to local medics, at least 863 civilians have been killed and 3,531 others injured since the outbreak of the conflict on April 15.

The disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two sides over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces — a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since the fall of 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."

The 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