Warring factions in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day ceasefire following talks in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah, according to a statement from Washington and Riyadh, as fighting that has killed hundreds and displaced more than a million entered its sixth week.
The ceasefire agreement was signed late on Saturday.
It will take effect 48 hours after, at 9:45 pm local time (19:45 GMT) on Monday, the sponsors of the talks, the United States and Saudi Arabia, said in their joint statement.
Numerous previous ceasefire agreements were violated. However, this agreement will be enforced by a US-Saudi and international-supported monitoring mechanism, the statement said without providing details.
The agreement also calls for distributing humanitarian assistance, restoring essential services and withdrawing forces from hospitals and essential public facilities.
“It is past time to silence the guns and allow unhindered humanitarian access. I implore both sides to uphold this agreement — the eyes of the world are watching,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
The fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has plunged the country into chaos. Stocks of food, cash and essentials are rapidly dwindling, and mass looting has hit banks, embassies, aid warehouses and even churches.
A spokesman for the Forces for Freedom of Change – Central Command (FFC-CC) had said prior to the signing of the ceasefire that it was expected to facilitate distribution of humanitarian aid and allow repairs for health, water and electricity services in conflict-affected areas under a “monitoring mechanisms” by international brokers whose details he also did not elaborate.
The FFC-CC is a bloc of political parties that shared power with the army in a transitional government before the country’s 2021 military coup. Civilian groups have criticised it for offering little support to them during the ongoing conflict. (AlJazeera)