Sudan Warring Parties Agree to 7-day Humanitarian Truce: Juba

Sudanese army soldiers man a position in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, on April 20, 2023. (AFP Photo)

May 2, 2023 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) – Rival leaders in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day humanitarian ceasefire, according to a statement released by the South Sudanese foreign ministry on Tuesday.

The agreement comes after President Salva Kiir Mayardit spoke by telephone with Abdel Fatah Al Burhan Commander in Chief of Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemetti”, Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Kiir further urged them to de-escalate and name representatives for peace talks to be held at an agreed venue said the foreign ministry in Juba.

Abdel Fatah Al Burhan and Hemetti “have agreed in principle to the ceasefire from May 4th to 11th. They have also agreed to name their representatives for the peace talks,” announced the statement.

On Monday, General Shems al-Din Kabbashi, a member of the Sovereign Council and close aide to al-Burhan said they would participate in a meeting brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia to only discuss humanitarian.

Kabbashi strongly ruled out political talks with the RSF.

During his discussions with the two belligerents, President Kiir s emphasized the need for a longer ceasefire and expressed his appreciation to al-Burhan and Hemetti for heeding regional and international calls for a ceasefire.

He urged them to take advantage of the 7-day truce to name representatives and propose the date for beginning the talks.

Talks in Saudi Arabia

Diplomatic sources told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday that the army and the paramilitary force would start negotiations in Saudi Arabia within hours.

The talks initially were planned to take place in Juba under the mediation of three IGAD leaders.

A leader of the pro-democracy coalition Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) Yasir Arman said, in a tweet posted on Tuesday, that the warring parties are “now heading towards negotiation and this is good news.”

Arman urged Sudanese in the areas that are not affected by the war to organize large-scale protests to press the two warring sides to negotiate and stop the war.

(ST)