US, Saudi Arabia call on Sudan warring sides to extend ceasefire

With a shaky ceasefire signed last week coming to an end, Sudanese citizens are worried that fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force will intensify.

The United States and Saudi Arabia have called on warring parties in Sudan to extend a fragile ceasefire as weeks of fighting stalled in the capital and elsewhere in the African country.

In a joint statement on Sunday, Washington and Riyadh called for an extension of the current ceasefire, which expires at 9:45 p.m. [19:45 GMT] on Monday.

“While imperfect, an extension will nonetheless facilitate the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people,” the statement said.

It also urged the military government of Sudan and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to continue negotiations to reach an agreement on the extension of the ceasefire.

Fighting broke out in mid-April. Both military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo led the 2021 coup that overthrew the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

The conflict has killed hundreds, injured thousands and brought the country to collapse. It has displaced nearly 1.4 million people from their homes to safer areas in Sudan or to neighboring countries, according to the UN Migration Office.

The military and RSF had last week agreed to the week-long ceasefire brokered by the US and the Saudis. However, the ceasefire, like others before it, has not put an end to fighting in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country.

Residents reported sporadic fighting in parts of the capital’s adjoining town, Omdurman, again on Sunday, as army planes flew over the city. There was also fighting in al-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur.

Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said humanitarian aid delivery was not possible in many parts of the capital and the country.

“Humanitarian aid was able to trickle in on Saturday, but it reached very few people,” Morgan said. “People are afraid that when the ceasefire ends, there will be more fighting and they will be caught between the two sides.”

Fragile truce

In a separate statement, the US and Saudi Arabia accused both the military and the RSF of ceasefire violations, saying such violations “significantly impeded the delivery of humanitarian aid and the recovery of essential services.”

The statement mentioned airstrikes by the army, including one that reportedly killed at least two people in Khartoum on Saturday. The RSF is also accused of continuing to occupy civilian homes, private businesses and public buildings and looting some residences.

“Both sides have told facilitators their goal is de-escalation to allow for humanitarian relief and essential repairs, but both sides are ready for further escalation,” the statement said.

Mini Minawi, the governor of western Sudan’s war-torn region of Darfur, on Sunday called on people there to “take up arms” after markets were set on fire and health and relief facilities looted.

“I call on all our esteemed citizens, the people of Darfur, old and young, men and women, to take up arms to protect their property,” he said on Twitter.

Much of the fiercest fighting has been in Khartoum and in Darfur near the border with Chad.

Morgan said Minawi was also the head of an armed faction whose involvement could escalate fighting.

Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled across the border to Chad over concerns about the militarization of those left behind.