Sudan Forces Agree To 72-Hour Ceasefire From Today As Foreigners Are Evacuated

Forces in Sudan have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire to facilitate the rescue operations of foreigners from the war zone.

Sudan Conflict: Amid continuous violent face-off between the two sides in Sudan, the nation’s forces have now agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire starting on Tuesday, while Western, Arab and Asian nations raced to extract their citizens from the country, reported Reuters.  The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) reportedly said the US and Saudi Arabia mediated the truce. As per the report, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the agreement first and said that it followed two days of intense negotiations.  

Notably, there have been several attempts for temporary truce deals which the two sides have not abided by so far. 

The RSF confirmed in Khartoum that it had agreed to the ceasefire, beginning at midnight, to facilitate humanitarian efforts. "We affirm our commitment to a complete ceasefire during the truce period", the RSF said, as quoted by Reuters. 

The SAF, too, said on its Facebook page that it has also agreed to the truce deal. 

The fighting between the SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group since April 15 has killed at least 427 people, affected hospitals and other services and turned residential areas into war zones. Citizens are taking shelter at different locations fearing the raging war as countries race to take their people out from here. 

As per Reuters, Blinken said in a statement, "During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire." 

He added that the US would coordinate with regional, international and Sudanese civilian interests to create a committee to oversee work on a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian 

Meanwhile, Reuters stated in the report that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the violence in a country that flanks the Red Sea, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions "risks a catastrophic conflagration ... that could engulf the whole region and beyond". 

The Security Council planned a meeting on Sudan on Tuesday, the report further said. 

Tens of thousands of people including Sudanese and citizens from neighbouring countries have fled in the past few days, to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan, despite the instability and difficult living conditions there. 

Several countries including Canada, France, Poland, Switzerland and the United States, have halted embassy operations until further notice while trying to rescue as many people as possible. 

As per Reuters, Japan said all its citizens who wished to leave Sudan had been evacuated. Paris said it had arranged evacuations of 491 people, including 196 French citizens and others from 36 other nationalities. A French warship, meanwhile, was heading for Port Sudan to pick up more evacuees. 

Four German air force planes evacuated more than 400 people of various nationalities from war-torn Sudan as of Monday. Whereas the Saudi foreign ministry said on Monday it evacuated 356 people, including 101 Saudis and people of 26 other nationalities. 

France on Monday said it evacuated 388 people including Indians and 27 other nationalities from the conflict zone.