South Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday that a seven-day ceasefire agreement has been reached from 4 to 11 May between the leader of the Sudanese Army, Abdelfatah al Burhan, and the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (FAR) paramilitary group. This will be the longest humanitarian pause since the conflict began on April 15.
Abdelfatah al Burhan, Chairman of the Sudanese Sovereign Council and leader of the Armed Forces, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces, agreed in principle on a seven-day ceasefire from May 4-11. ,” according to a statement from the official Facebook account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan.
A new 72-hour ceasefire expires tomorrow, the third in a row, to allow the evacuation of foreigners and Sudanese fleeing conflict in Khartoum and other parts of the country, such as the conflicted Darfur region.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who leads mediation by members of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD), an East African economic bloc, urged Sudanese leaders to “identify representatives and propose a date for the start of negotiations as soon as possible”.
In the long statement, it was noted that the government of South Sudan “has received approval from both sides of the conflict to appoint their representatives for peace talks and to take place where they propose”.
Volker Perthes, the special envoy of the UN mission in Sudan, confirmed in interviews with different media outlets that the conflicting parties have agreed to go to negotiations that could be conducted in Saudi Arabia or South Sudan but without two main elements. Leaders of both sides meet face to face.
Al Burhan’s envoy, Dafa Allah al Haj Ali, said at a press conference in Cairo today that there will be no “direct” negotiations with the FAR, which he calls “terrorists”.
At least 528 people have been killed and more than 4,500 injured since the start of the conflict, according to the latest census by Sudan’s Ministry of Health.