Ceasefire Between Sudanese Troops and Rapid Support Forces: Jeddah Agreement and International Monitoring

A ceasefire between Sudanese troops and the Rapid Support Forces came into force under the Jeddah agreement, while the United States confirmed for the first time that the agreement would be subject to international monitoring.

The ceasefire was reached in talks in the city of Jeddah on Saturday, mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United States, after five weeks of heavy fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

This is the first formally negotiated truce, although fighting has still erupted during previous truces.

However, shortly after the new ceasefire agreement came into effect, Agence France-Presse reported citing eyewitnesses that fighting broke out in Khartoum, but did not provide more details.

Reuters also reported, citing residents of the Sudanese capital, that fighter jets flew over some areas of the city late on Monday as the truce came into effect, and residents said they heard gunfire in Omdurman and Bahri.

conflict before armistice

Sudanese Army fighter jets bombarded Rapid Support Forces targets east of the Nile amidst anti-aircraft fire.

Al Jazeera correspondents reported that explosions were heard in some neighborhoods in central Khartoum and central and southern Omdurman, and said heavy flying of warplanes was heard from Rapid Support Force positions in some neighborhoods south of Omdurman Sounds and anti-aircraft guns.

Clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces at various locations in the capital, Khartoum, this morning.

The ceasefire agreement was originally scheduled to take effect tonight, at 9:45 local time, and will be valid for 7 days.

Meanwhile, Sudan’s Sovereign Council vice-chairman Malik Ager on Monday called for an end to the conflict in the country and a logical solution through dialogue.

The above was mentioned in a statement issued by Malik Agger when he met with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit in the capital Juba.

commitment to abide by the armistice agreement

The Sudanese military says the Sudanese Armed Forces are committed to complying with the terms of the Jeddah Ceasefire Agreement, which will come into effect tonight.

The military emphasized in a statement that the agreement was limited to temporary ceasefire arrangements on military and technical aspects, in addition to arrangements for the protection of civilians and hospitals, and did not involve political issues.

On the other hand, Yusuf Izzat, the political adviser to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, called the Jeddah ceasefire agreement a positive and good step and said that the Rapid Support Forces were committed to a truce and ceasefire.

New to these talks, Yusuf Izzat added, is the need for a committee to oversee the ceasefire, which was approved in the recent agreement in Jeddah.

On the other hand, Volker Peretz, the UN special envoy to Sudan, said fighting in Sudan continued despite pledges by both sides not to seek military gains until the ceasefire takes effect.

Briefing members of the UN Security Council, Peretz added that the ceasefire could be renewed and that civilians must be allowed to move and humanitarian aid to reach them, reiterating his call for an end to the fighting and a return to dialogue.

Peretz, on the other hand, warned of the growing “ethnic dimension” of the military conflict that erupted in Sudan last month, with potential repercussions for neighboring countries, adding that “the ethnic dimension of the conflict is growing, It threatens to plunge the country into a protracted conflict with repercussions that will spill over into the region.”

Jeddah agreement

Saudi Arabia and the United States said in a statement that the ceasefire in Sudan, signed in Jeddah, would take effect Monday night.

The statement also said the agreement would be backed by an internationally-backed monitoring mechanism from Saudi Arabia and the United States, for the first time since the start of the confrontation.

The agreement includes commitments by all parties to the conflict in Sudan to provide and distribute humanitarian aid and restore essential services, as well as their commitment to withdraw troops from hospitals and essential public facilities.

On 15 April, fighting between the Sudanese army led by Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo killed about 1,000 people and left more than One million people were internally and externally displaced.