Top-ranking Sudanese army officials appeared to contradict each other about whether the military would abide by a 24-hour cease-fire in the spiraling conflict in the North African country, just hours before the proposed 6 p.m. start.
As fighting raged for a fourth day in the capital, Khartoum, the official army spokesman said in a statement that the dispute had entered a “critical phase” and that the army wasn’t aware of any mediation efforts. But Shams El Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, told Al-Arabiya television that the temporary truce would be implemented.
The army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has clashed with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces under rival Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in Khartoum and other cities since April 15, leaving more than 180 people dead and at least 1,800 others injured. The conflict has set back hopes of a return to civilian rule after a 2021 coup and sparked fears of a full-blown civil war.
The RSF announced earlier Tuesday it had agreed to a 24-hour cessation of hostilities after discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other “friendly nations.” The army, noting the continued fighting, said it was “surprised at the enemy’s contradictions between the request for a truce and mobilization.”
Nine hospitals in Khartoum have been shuttered either due to being shelled or attacked by soldiers, according to the Sudanese Doctors’ Union Preliminary Committee. Those that remain open are facing shortages of water and electricity as well as medicines, including pain relief drugs.
The United Nations said Tuesday that fighters in Khartoum have targeted buildings occupied by diplomats and international humanitarian agency staff. The European Union said its ambassador had been assaulted in his home, while a U.S. diplomatic convoy was also fired upon, according to Blinken. Those incidents follow the death of three U.N. World Food Programme employees in the western Darfur region after a firefight at the weekend.
While the confrontation is currently “very much a domestic affair,” a prolonged conflict risks drawing in regional powers, said Kholood Khair, founding director of the Confluence Advisory, a Khartoum-based think tank.
“If this goes on and depending on who gets the upper hand there could absolutely be engagement of regional actors,” she said.
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(With assistance from Tarek El-Tablawy.)
