Sudan: the belligerents agree on a ceasefire

The Sudanese army and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have signed a seven-day ceasefire agreement, after six weeks of relatively unrelenting fighting that left hundreds dead.

The agreement, which was brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, was signed by the warring parties on Saturday May 20 and is expected to enter into force within 48 hours at 9:45 p.m. Khartoum time (1945 GMT).

The conflict in the North African country represents a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the RSF.Since April 15, the clashes have left more than 700 dead and 5,287 injured. Over a million people have already been displaced.

Ceasefire mediators said in a joint statement that the agreement was reached following talks in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. The ceasefire "will remain in effect for seven days and may be extended with the agreement of both parties".

The agreement reached will be backed by a ceasefire monitoring mechanism backed by the United States, Saudi Arabia and the international community.

Further talks will focus on additional measures needed to improve security and humanitarian conditions for civilians, such as evacuating forces from urban centers, including civilian settlements, accelerating the removal of obstacles to free movement of civilians and humanitarian actors, and the possibility for civil servants to return to their usual duties, the statement read.

Several truces announced in the past have been broken since the outbreak of clashes on April 15 in Sudan.Later on Saturday, the Sudanese Forces for Freedom and Change (FLC), a coalition of political parties supporting the democratic regime, welcomed the truce agreement."We call for full commitment to the Jeddah 'Declaration of Principles' and to the short-term ceasefire agreement and humanitarian arrangements," the FLC said in a statement.