US and Saudi brokered truce in Sudan begins
Sudan dawned in tense calm after the entry into force on Sunday of a new truce between the paramilitaries and the army of the African country, who said they will comply with the pause, although the latter warned that it will respond "firmly in case of violations".
The new 72-hour truce, brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, which came into effect at 06:00 Sudanese time (04:00 GMT), comes as the Saudi kingdom is scheduled to host a meeting on Monday to discuss and announce commitments to support the humanitarian response in Sudan.
Both the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at loggerheads in Khartoum and other areas of Sudan since 15 April, have said they will comply with the new pause, although the armed forces stressed that their response will be "firm" if the agreement is breached.
"The armed forces announce their approval of the mediators' proposal for a truce aimed at facilitating humanitarian aspects for a period of 72 hours" while "we will respond firmly to any violation committed by the rebels," the army warned in a statement today.
The FAR also assured, in a statement, its commitment to a "complete ceasefire in all parts of Sudan to fulfil the purposes of the humanitarian truce, facilitate the delivery of aid to civilians, the repair of public facilities such as hospitals, water and electricity plants, and open safe corridors for citizens".
This is the twelfth truce since the fighting began. Of these, only the eleventh, which lasted only 24 hours on 10 June, was fully respected by the parties.
The conflict in Sudan has caused the internal and external displacement of more than 2.2 million people, according to UN agencies, a figure that adds to the 3.7 million internally displaced people already in the country, mainly in Darfur (west).
The exact number of casualties from the fighting is unknown, and while the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported at least 866 civilian deaths, citing Sudan's Ministry of Health, the Sudanese doctors' union puts the civilian death toll at more than 958.
