The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced their commitments to a new 72-hour humanitarian truce effective as of midnight Sunday, reports Asian Lite News
The Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has urged for calm, giving priority to the national interest, and stopping all forms of military escalation in Sudan.
His Excellency Jassem Mohamed Albudaiwi has met with Ambassador Dafalla Al Haj Ali, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Sudan and the Special Envoy of the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council in Sudan to neighbouring countries and the African Union, at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh.
His Excellency Albudaiwi stressed the GCC’s keenness to preserve Sudan’s security, safety and stability and protect the cohesion of the state and its institutions as well as support the country in facing all challenges to accomplish the aspirations of its brotherly people.
Furthermore, he praised the humanitarian role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all GCC countries in the current crisis in Sudan, praising the efforts of the Arab League, the Quartet Group, and all international and regional efforts aimed at reaching a consensus among the political forces in the country, putting an end to the crisis and achieving security and stability in Sudan.
The meeting was attended by His Excellency Dr Abdulaziz Hamad Aluwaisheg, Assistant Secretary General for Political and Negotiation Affairs at the General Secretariat of the GCC.
Truce extended
The Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have announced their commitments to a new 72-hour humanitarian truce, effective as of midnight Sunday.
“Based on the endeavours and request of the Saudi-American mediation, the Armed Forces agreed to extend the truce for extra 72 hours, to begin at the end of the current one,” the Army said on Sunday in a statement.
The Army expressed hope that the other party would abide by the truce, Xinhua news agency reported.
For its part, the RSF said in a statement on Sunday that “in response to international, regional and local calls, we declare an extension of the humanitarian truce for an additional 72 hours, starting today midnight”.
The RSF said that it agreed to the truce extension to open humanitarian passages, facilitate the movement of the citizens and enable them to get their needs and reach safe areas.
The statement stressed the RSF’s commitment to the terms of the humanitarian truce and complete ceasefire.
On Sunday, Sudan’s Civil Aviation Authority said the closure of the country’s airspace will be extended to May 13.
Flights for humanitarian aid and evacuation are excluded after obtaining a permit from related authorities and the approval of the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Sudan has been witnessing a large-scale evacuation of foreign nationals and diplomats by air, land and sea since the eruption of the deadly clashes between the Army and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas on April 15.
So far, the clashes have left more than 500 people dead and more than 4,000 others wounded, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.
ALSO READ: Elite capture behind the chaos in Sudan