An RSF fighter at a Sudanese Air Force command area in the capital Khartoum
Reuters reported that a 72-hour ceasefire officially took effect on June 18 in Sudan, after more than two months of conflict between two military factions, helping the capital Khartoum calm down after clashes and airstrikes the night before.
Sudan’s army and the opposition Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to stop attacking each other and not seek military advantage during the ceasefire. The two sides will also allow the delivery of aid, according to Saudi Arabian and US mediators.
Several previous ceasefires have failed to hold, after fighting broke out between the two sides on April 15.
The power struggle between the two factions has turned Sudan's capital Khartoum into a scene of fighting and looting, as well as leading to clashes in other areas and escalating violence in Darfur in western Sudan.
Hours before the ceasefire began at 6 a.m. local time on June 18, several witnesses reported clashes and airstrikes in several areas of Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman.
"The situation in Khartoum is now calm, especially after the terrible air strikes last night. We are tired. Enough of war, death and looting," said 49-year-old resident Salaheldin Ahmed in the capital, expressing hope that the ceasefire could be "the beginning of the end" of the conflict.
Previous ceasefires brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States during talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah have helped deliver some humanitarian aid, but both sides in Sudan have repeatedly violated the agreement.
On June 19, the United Nations, Germany, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will hold a donor conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to attract funding commitments for humanitarian relief operations in Sudan.
The UN says more than half of Sudan’s 49 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, with $3 billion needed by the end of the year. It is also appealing for nearly $500 million to address the refugee crisis caused by the conflict.
More than 500,000 people in Sudan have fled to neighboring countries, in addition to nearly 1.7 million people displaced within the country.
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