The Forces for Freedom and Change in Sudan welcomed the ceasefire agreement signed yesterday evening between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, while the US ambassador in Khartoum called on both sides of the conflict to respect the agreement.
The United States of America and Saudi Arabia said, in a joint statement, that the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces signed a 7-day ceasefire agreement late on Saturday.
The statement stated that the cease-fire will enter into force 48 hours after the signing (on Monday at 9:45 pm local time), and it can be extended with the consent of the two parties.
The statement added that the two sides agreed to deliver and distribute humanitarian aid, restore basic services, and withdraw forces from hospitals and basic public facilities. The two parties also agreed to facilitate safe passage for humanitarian aid providers, allowing the unhindered flow of aid from ports of entry to populations in need.
The US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, called on the army and support forces to respect the ceasefire agreement they signed in Jeddah yesterday.
Godfrey said – on the US embassy’s Facebook page – that the Jeddah agreement will allow humanitarian aid to reach the Sudanese people, and provide a way for a permanent cessation of hostilities between the two parties, as he put it.
For its part, the Forces for Freedom and Change (a coalition that includes a group of political parties supporting civil rule) called in a statement for full commitment to the Jeddah Declaration of Principles and to the short-term ceasefire agreement and humanitarian arrangements, and hoped that this agreement would constitute another step forward in the way of a total cessation of these ” Damned war.
On May 11, the two parties to the conflict in Sudan signed the first agreement between them within the Jeddah talks, and it includes 21 relief and humanitarian commitments, in addition to 3 conditions, the most prominent of which is that “it does not affect any legal, security or political situation of the signatories, and does not entail involvement.” in any political process.
Since April 15, Sudan has been witnessing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, which resulted in large numbers of victims and injured people, and difficult humanitarian conditions.