Sudanese army commander confirms ceasefire agreement for aid delivery

After the agreement between the two parties to the conflict in Sudan to extend the previous truce, the army commander Abdel Fattah confirmed the proofAgreeing to a cease-fire to deliver aid to those in need.

Al-Burhan said, on Tuesday, during a tour to inspect the soldiers: “We have not yet used lethal or excessive force, but if the RSF insists, we will have to use it.”

He also made it clear that “our main forces are still on the ground, contrary to what is said in the media.”

He also confirmed that the army fully controls all military sites in the country.

Second public appearance

It is noteworthy that this is the second public appearance of Al-Burhan since the outbreak of fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April.

On May 17, the army published video clips showing Al-Burhan inspecting soldiers inside the General Command headquarters in the capital, Khartoum.

The truce is extended by 5 days

It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia and the United States had announced, on Monday, that representatives of the army and the Rapid Support Forces had agreed in Jeddah to extend the ceasefire for a period of 5 days.

They also announced that the two warring parties had agreed to “discuss a long-term ceasefire, which may require the evacuation of forces from urban areas, including civilian homes.”

From Khartoum (archive from Reuters)

However, they stressed that “the two parties must still abide by their obligations under the short-term ceasefire agreement concluded on May 20, and the Declaration of Commitment to Protect Civilians in Sudan.”

Intermittent clashes

On Monday, Khartoum witnessed relative calm as the short-term ceasefire agreement entered its final hours, prior to reaching an agreement to extend it.

However, this short truce was not without violations, as intermittent clashes erupted between the two military forces during the past days, similar to what happened in the many previous truces.

More than 700 dead

The conflict was between Al-Burhan and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (aka BHamidti), exploded on April 15, after they were preparing to sign a framework agreement that defines the features of a new political transition process in the country that paves the way for holding general elections under the leadership of a civilian government, after they dissolved together a previous government that was composed of civilians in October 2021.

What turned the scene upside down, and pushed the country into the furnace of fighting, after thousands of Sudanese had hoped to return to the democratic path.

From Khartoum (archive from France Press)

The confrontations resulted in the death of more than 700 people and the injury of thousands of others, in addition to the displacement of nearly 1.4 million people to other places within Sudan or to neighboring countries, knowing that the real number of dead is likely to be much higher.

Work has also been disrupted in many health and government offices involved in tracking the death toll in Khartoum, where the fighting is concentrated, as well as in public facilities, airports, banks, and others. The Ministry of Health separately recorded the deaths of hundreds of people in the city of El Geneina in the Darfur region, where fighting also broke out.

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