Sudanese Warring Parties Agree to 7-Day Truce

On Tuesday, the Sudanese Foreign Affairs Ministry announced that Sudanese Army Gen. Abdelfatah Al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have agreed to halt fighting for a week from May 4.

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The belligerent forces have also agreed to name representatives for peace talks. These agreements were reached in South Sudan, a country acting as a mediator to resolve the humanitarian crisis that began on April 15.

Previously, the Sudanese Army and the RSF had agreed to several 72-hour truces to allow evacuations of people fleeing fighting in Khartoum and other parts of the country. None of these agreements, however, was actually respected.

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who heads the mediation group set up by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), urged the Sudanese army and RSF to propose a date to start peace talks as soon as possible.

He also asked them to take advantage of the seven-day truce to name spokespersons who will hold talks in the place where they propose. In recent days, Saudi Arabia and South Sudan have sounded like possible hosts for those talks.

The South Sudanese government "remains engaged with the Sudanese leadership to explore ways to narrow the gap between the two parties in the hope of achieving a lasting ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, which may lead to a friendly political settlement."

Meanwhile, however, Gen. Al Burhan's envoy Dafa Allah al Haj Ali said that there will be no "direct" negotiations with the RSF, calling it a "terrorist" organization.