Sudan: Death Toll Climbs to 550...As Rival Factions Agree to 7-Day Ceasefire

4 May 2023
Ghanaian Times (Accra)

Sudan's Health Ministry on Tuesday announced that more than 550 people have been killed in the three weeks of fighting between Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the two warring factions agreed to a 7-day ceasefire starting Thursday.

A total of "550 deaths and 4,926 injuries were recorded in all hospitals in Sudanese states," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the situation was calm in all states except for Khartoum and Central Darfur.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), on Tuesday agreed on a seven-day ceasefire mediated by neighbouring South Sudan.

Pauline Adhong Malok, the spokesperson for South Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a media briefing in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that the ceasefire, which was negotiated by South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, will start on Thursday to pave the way for peace talks between warring factions headed by the two generals.

"The government of the Republic of South Sudan has obtained the consent of the two parties to the current conflict in Sudan to name their representatives for peace talks to be held at any venue of their choice," Malok said.

She added that Kiir, during a telephone conversation with the two warring Sudanese generals, stressed the need for a longer ceasefire and speedy solution to the conflict that broke out in mid-April.

President Kiir is the leader of a team of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Assembly of the Heads of State that is negotiating for an end to armed conflict in Sudan.

Earlier, the RSF accused the SAF of violating the humanitarian truce. In a statement on Tuesday, the RSF said it managed to shoot down a SAF military plane, but the SAF spokesman's office could not be reached to comment on the claim.

Meanwhile, the Forces of Freedom and Change Alliance (FFC), a civilian political coalition in Sudan, on Tuesday called on the Sudanese people to stage demonstrations demanding the end of the conflict. -Xinhua

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