On Friday, the Sudanese Ministry of Defense called on “all those capable of carrying weapons” to obtain weapons from the army, including retired soldiers.
The ministry’s statement read, “An appeal is made to all retirees from the armed forces, including officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, and all those who are able to bear arms, to go to the nearest military command to arm them.”
The ministry said that this step “is to secure themselves, their sanctities and their neighbors, and protect their honor, and work according to the plans of these areas.”
This call comes as the battles that erupted on April 15 between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti”, resulted in the deaths of more than 1,800 people, according to the non-governmental organization “Aclide”.
The unrest has also forced more than a million Sudanese to flee within the country, which is ranked among the poorest in the world, while at least 300,000 others have sought refuge in neighboring countries, which are also experiencing crises, according to United Nations data.
On the fourth day of the truce brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, violent battles broke out between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, on Friday, in Darfur, in the west of the country.
The city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, witnessed “battles with all kinds of weapons,” residents told AFP.
Saudi and American mediators negotiated for two weeks with the two sides of the conflict, before they agreed to a “short-term ceasefire” for a week, which took effect on Monday evening.
The agreement provides for allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid, which has been impossible so far, with no humanitarian corridor being secured, which prevents civilians from leaving the areas of clashes.
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2023-05-26 13:45:09
