Sudan’s warring rivals trade accusations of violating cease-fire

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday exchanged accusations of violating a 3-day cease-fire in the country.

The cease-fire that came into force at Tuesday midnight was the latest attempt to stop the fighting that first erupted on April 15.

In a statement, the Sudanese army accused the RSF of sending military reinforcements into the capital Khartoum in violation of the cease-fire deal.

The army also said that RSF forces had attacked a military convoy near the presidential palace, the Qatari diplomatic mission and UN facilities in Khartoum.

The RSF, for its part, accused the army of attacking one of its checkpoints near the presidential palace in the capital and launching airstrikes on residential areas.

According to the World Health Organizations, at least 413 people have been killed and over 3,500 injured in the ongoing fighting in Sudan.

A disagreement between the army and RSF regarding military and security reform, which envisages the merging of the paramilitary force into the army, has turned into a hot conflict in the last few months.

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, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.