Khartoum: The Sudanese army on Wednesday suspended its participation in US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire talks, accusing its paramilitary foes of failing to honor their commitments.
Mediators for talks in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah have acknowledged repeated violations of the ceasefire by both sides, but have so far held off on imposing any sanctions in hopes of keeping the warring sides at the negotiating table.
A Sudanese government official said on condition of anonymity that “the army moved out” because the rebels never implemented even one of the provisions of the short-term ceasefire, which required their withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings .
The army said the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) has also “repeatedly violated the ceasefire”, the official said.
US and Saudi mediators said late Monday that the warring sides had agreed for five days to extend a humanitarian ceasefire, which they repeatedly violated last week.
Mediators acknowledged that the ceasefire was “imperfectly observed”, but said an extension would “allow for further humanitarian efforts”.
But fighting flared up again on Tuesday in both Greater Khartoum and the flashpoint western region of Darfur, despite pledges from both sides.
“The army is ready to fight until victory,” army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declared during a visit to the troops in the capital.
RSF, led by Burhan’s deputy rival Mohammed Hamdan Daglosaid they would “exercise their right to defend themselves” and accused the army of violating the ceasefire.
fear of breaking
Sudan Expert Alley taboo Said mediators were keen to avoid a complete breakdown of talks for fear of a major escalation on the ground.
“The mediators know the situation is bad, but they don’t want to reveal that the ceasefire has ended for fear that the situation will get worse,” said Verzi, a researcher at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg.
“The hope is that by keeping the parties talking, the prospects for better respected arrangements will eventually improve.”
More than 1,800 people have been killed since fighting between rival security forces began on April 15, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Incident Data Project.
The United Nations says more than one million people have been internally displaced and some 350,000 have fled abroad, with more than 170,000 in Egypt.
The UN says more than half the population – 25 million people – are now in need of aid and protection.
Entire districts of Khartoum are now without water, electricity is only available for a few hours a week, and three quarters of hospitals in war zones are out of service.
Many families are hiding in their homes, rationing water and electricity, to avoid stray gunmen in the city of more than five million people – some 700,000 of whom have fled, according to the United Nations.
In Darfur, along Sudan’s western border with Chad, fighting continued “in blatant disregard of cease-fire commitments”, said toby harvardUnited Nations Refugee Agency.
Persistent fighting has hindered the delivery of much-needed aid and protection to a record 25 million people, more than half the population, according to the United Nations.
Despite growing needs, it says it has received only 13 percent of the $2.6 billion it needs.
The United Nations has warned for weeks that fighting in Darfur’s major cities has also attracted former rebel and militia fighters recruited along ethnic lines during the region’s devastating conflict in the mid-2000s.
Darfur’s pro-military governor mini minnowA former rebel leader, has urged citizens to “take up arms” to defend their property.
Sudan could descend into “total civil war”, warned the main civilian Bloc for Freedom and Change, ousted from power by Burhan and Dagalo in a 2021 coup, before the two men dropped out.
Mediators for talks in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah have acknowledged repeated violations of the ceasefire by both sides, but have so far held off on imposing any sanctions in hopes of keeping the warring sides at the negotiating table.
A Sudanese government official said on condition of anonymity that “the army moved out” because the rebels never implemented even one of the provisions of the short-term ceasefire, which required their withdrawal from hospitals and residential buildings .
The army said the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF) has also “repeatedly violated the ceasefire”, the official said.
US and Saudi mediators said late Monday that the warring sides had agreed for five days to extend a humanitarian ceasefire, which they repeatedly violated last week.
Mediators acknowledged that the ceasefire was “imperfectly observed”, but said an extension would “allow for further humanitarian efforts”.
But fighting flared up again on Tuesday in both Greater Khartoum and the flashpoint western region of Darfur, despite pledges from both sides.
“The army is ready to fight until victory,” army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan declared during a visit to the troops in the capital.
RSF, led by Burhan’s deputy rival Mohammed Hamdan Daglosaid they would “exercise their right to defend themselves” and accused the army of violating the ceasefire.
fear of breaking
Sudan Expert Alley taboo Said mediators were keen to avoid a complete breakdown of talks for fear of a major escalation on the ground.
“The mediators know the situation is bad, but they don’t want to reveal that the ceasefire has ended for fear that the situation will get worse,” said Verzi, a researcher at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg.
“The hope is that by keeping the parties talking, the prospects for better respected arrangements will eventually improve.”
More than 1,800 people have been killed since fighting between rival security forces began on April 15, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Incident Data Project.
The United Nations says more than one million people have been internally displaced and some 350,000 have fled abroad, with more than 170,000 in Egypt.
The UN says more than half the population – 25 million people – are now in need of aid and protection.
Entire districts of Khartoum are now without water, electricity is only available for a few hours a week, and three quarters of hospitals in war zones are out of service.
Many families are hiding in their homes, rationing water and electricity, to avoid stray gunmen in the city of more than five million people – some 700,000 of whom have fled, according to the United Nations.
In Darfur, along Sudan’s western border with Chad, fighting continued “in blatant disregard of cease-fire commitments”, said toby harvardUnited Nations Refugee Agency.
Persistent fighting has hindered the delivery of much-needed aid and protection to a record 25 million people, more than half the population, according to the United Nations.
Despite growing needs, it says it has received only 13 percent of the $2.6 billion it needs.
The United Nations has warned for weeks that fighting in Darfur’s major cities has also attracted former rebel and militia fighters recruited along ethnic lines during the region’s devastating conflict in the mid-2000s.
Darfur’s pro-military governor mini minnowA former rebel leader, has urged citizens to “take up arms” to defend their property.
Sudan could descend into “total civil war”, warned the main civilian Bloc for Freedom and Change, ousted from power by Burhan and Dagalo in a 2021 coup, before the two men dropped out.