Khartoum — The General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) today addressed a statement "to the young women and men of our country in the resistance committees around Sudan," encouraging them to continue their role providing essential services during the ongoing conflict.

"The armed forces appreciate your pioneering role in directing your teams to give a helping hand by proving essential services to those in need during these times that our patient people are living through," the statement via the SAF spokesperson says.

"We call on you to continue playing this role in fully coordination with the armed forces in different parts of the capital and other states." The SAF statement asserts that this coordination is "to block the opportunity for the enemies of our people and country, the militia and the rebels [referring to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)] that are spreading chaos and systematic destruction... and to avoid the mistrust that drives a wedge between the army of the nation and our countrymen and women in the honourable resistance committees in the capital and other states."

The SAF pledges that it will work to develop effective mechanisms for this coordination.

The SAF statement comes shortly before a seven-day short-term ceasefire and humanitarian arrangements, as agreed between the SAF and RSF in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, becomes effective at 21:45 (Khartoum time GMT+2) this evening. As reported earlier by Radio Dabanga, large parts of the Sudan capital Khartoum, and neighbouring Omdurman and Bahri witnessed heavy bombardment this morning, in the run-up to the truce deadline.