“Sudanese Army and RSF Agree to Extend Ceasefire Amid Escalating Conflict in Darfur”

The Sudanese army and RSF paramilitary militia have agreed to extend the ceasefire. The ceasefire that started on the night from Monday to Tuesday has been extended by another 72 hours. The armistice was to expire at midnight. America and Saudi Arabia were involved in the negotiations.

Although shots and explosions were still heard today in the capital Khartoum, according to US Secretary of State Blinken, violence there has greatly diminished. Thousands of people have taken advantage of the relative calm in recent days to flee. Many foreigners could be evacuated. More than a hundred Dutch people were flown out of the country.

In the western region of Darfur, the conflict seems to be escalating, the AP news agency reports. Residents say the fighting is the fiercest since fighting erupted on April 15. “We are being attacked from all sides,” says a woman in the city of Al-Junaynah. “Everyone flees.” It is often not clear who is attacking them.

More than 500 people have been killed in Sudan since fighting began, according to the Sudanese health ministry.

The battle is between government troops of the head of state and General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti. They are at odds over whether and how the RSF militia should be integrated into the Sudanese army.