Saudi Arabia, US urge Sudan’s warring rivals to extend cease-fire

ISTANBUL

Saudi Arabia and the United States on Sunday called on Sudan’s warring rivals to extend their temporary cease-fire.

A 7-day cease-fire between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group is set to expire on Monday. The agreement was reached during face-to-face talks between the two sides in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry called on the Sudanese army and the RSF “to continue discussions to reach agreement on extending the cease-fire.”

Despite the cease-fire, clashes renewed between the army and the RSF in the capital Khartoum and other cities in the past days.

On Saturday, the paramilitary group said it was ready to discuss an extension of the cease-fire.

“While imperfect, an extension nonetheless will facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people,” the statement said.

“In the absence of an agreement to extend the current cease-fire, it remains incumbent on the parties to adhere to their obligations under the short-term cease-fire and the preceding Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan,” it added.

At least 863 civilians have been killed and thousands injured since the fighting between the two military rivals erupted on April 15, according to local medics.

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