Sudan’s RSF extends humanitarian truce for 72 hours

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Sunday announced the extension of a humanitarian truce for 72 hours.

A 3-day cease-fire between the RSF and the Sudanese army is scheduled to expire midnight Sunday.

“In response to international, regional and local calls, we announce the extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours as of midnight Sunday, in order to open humanitarian corridors, facilitate the movement of citizens and residents, and enable them to fulfill their needs and reach safe areas,” the RSF said in a statement.

There was no comment from the Sudanese army on the RSF announcement.

At least 528 people have been killed and more than 4,500 injured in fighting between two rival generals – army chief Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo – since April 15, according to Sudan's Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitary force regarding the RSF 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, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi