Beijing, 21 May (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia and the United States, which mediated the conflict in Sudan, issued a joint statement on 20 May, saying that the two sides to the conflict, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the Rapid Support Force -- signed a temporary ceasefire agreement in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea for one week. Saudi Arabia, the United States and the international community will monitor the implementation of the agreement.
The agreement will officially take effect 48 hours after signing, that is, at 21:45 Khartoum time on the 22nd (3:45 Beijing time on the 23rd), and can be extended by mutual agreement.
Yemeni citizens evacuated from Sudan arrive at Sana'a International Airport on 14 May. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed)
The statement said the two sides to the conflict in Sudan agreed not to use the 48 hours before the ceasefire agreement came into effect to seize a military advantage. Given that the two sides have previously announced a ceasefire agreement but have not complied with it, the latest agreement will be overseen by the ceasefire monitoring mechanism supported by the United States, Saudi Arabia and the international community.
According to the Associated Press, the four parties of Saudi Arabia, the United States, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force will each send three representatives to form a monitoring and coordination committee to monitor the ceasefire.
Under the latest agreement, the parties to the conflict agreed to open safe passage for the transport of humanitarian supplies, withdraw troops from critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and restore basic public services.
This is a view of the streets of Khartoum, Sudan, taken on April 19. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Mohammed Haider)
A number of witnesses told Reuters that although there were sporadic gunshots in the capital Khartoum on the 20th, it was generally calm. However, air strikes continue to occur in two cities across the Nile, Omdurman and northern Khartoum. Witnesses said there were several airstrikes near Sudanese state television in Omdurman that day.
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on the 20th that the country's embassy in Khartoum was ransacked by armed personnel on the same day, but the embassy personnel have long been evacuated from Sudan and there are no casualties. Qatar's foreign ministry did not specify which side the looters came from, but Sudanese authorities have pointed to paramilitary groups such as the Rapid Support Force. Similar attacks have occurred before the embassies of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Khartoum.
This is a street scene photographed in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 18. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Mohammed Haider)
In addition, ground clashes have erupted in the once calm Darfur region in recent days, with the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Force accusing each other of provoking the clashes. Reuters quoted local sources as saying that nearly 30 people died in the conflict between the 18th and 19th, the regional city of Nyala.
Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Sudan on April 15, some 705 people have been killed, at least 5,287 injured and nearly 1.1 million displaced, hundreds of thousands of whom have fled to neighboring countries such as Egypt, South Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic, according to the latest WHO statistics.
Martin Griffiths, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said on the 19th that the United Nations will allocate $22 million to help Sudanese escape the war. (Wang Hongbin)