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Army leader Al-Burhan has also opened the door to possible talks with FAR in South Sudan

Sudanese army agrees to extend the truce

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Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan - PHOTO/ARCHIVO
AFP/ASHRAF SHAZLY - The leader of the Sudanese army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
Margarita Arredondas
Updated: 28/04/23

The countdown is on for the 72-hour ceasefire between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to come to an end. The international community is redoubling its efforts to extend the truce, which, according to the United Nations, "is not being fully respected". According to Reuters, fighting in recent hours has centred on Omdurman, near Khartoum, where the army is trying to drive out FAR members from other parts of the country. 

Also during the shaky ceasefire, several officers from the former regime of dictator Omar al-Bashir have been released from prison, including Ahmed Haroun and Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who have been indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. According to AP, both are in a military hospital, as is al-Bashir himself. The release of officers linked to Al-Bashir's dictatorship has sparked accusations between the army and the FAR, which blame each other for taking the prisoners out of jail.  

Amid the tensions and fighting, the leader of the Sudanese army, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has agreed to a possible extension of the ceasefire. He has also expressed support for talks with the enemy side in the South Sudanese capital, Juba. "Al-Burhan thanked the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and gave his initial approval," an army statement said.

IGAD - an organisation made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda - is leading efforts to extend the truce in Sudan and for the warring sides to begin negotiations to end the ongoing conflict that has already claimed the lives of more than 500 people. However, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that this figure will rise due to disease and lack of medical supplies. 

As IGAD waits for FAR to accept its proposal to extend the truce, evacuations continue. Countries are working around the clock to get their citizens out of Sudan before the ceasefire ends on Thursday night. UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has acknowledged that, once the truce ends, there will be no "guarantee" of how many evacuation flights will take off from Sudan. On the contrary, British military officials have assured that operations "could continue" after the end of the ceasefire, as long as conditions are safe, reports The Guardian. 

In addition to IGAD, the African Union, the United States, the European Union, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are working towards a permanent ceasefire and a cessation of hostilities between the warring sides. In this regard, Riyadh is in contact with both military leaders in order to push for a peace process. 

The Saudi Kingdom, due to its geographical location, also plays a key role in the evacuation of foreigners from Sudan. In the last few hours, a ship carrying 1,687 civilians of 50 different nationalities docked in the Red Sea port of Jeddah. In addition to facilitating evacuation by sea, Saudi Arabia has also airlifted foreigners out of Sudan. According to Foreign Ministry figures, a total of 2,148 people have arrived in the Kingdom from Sudan. 

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