A ceasefire came into effect on Saturday morning in Sudan where residents have little hope of seeing it applied after numerous truces violated in almost two months of conflict which led to a serious humanitarian crisis.
The camps of the two warring generals have agreed to a 24-hour truce, starting at 6:00 a.m. Khartoum time (04:00 GMT), the Saudi mediator announced on Friday, which has been hosting negotiations between the belligerents for weeks.
According to witnesses, the situation seemed calm in the early morning in the capital Khartoum.
"A one-day truce is the least of the things we aspire to. We can't wait to end this damn war," Mahmoud Bachir, a resident of the Bahri district, told AFP.
Issam Mohamed Omar, who lived in the center of Khartoum and fled to Omdurman, the twin city, wants the paramilitaries to leave.
"For me, a truce that does not chase the FSR from the house from which they chased me three weeks ago is useless," he said, while many residents denounced the FRS's stranglehold on housing.
This is yet another ceasefire in the war that began on April 15 between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the paramilitaries of General Mohamed Hamdane's Rapid Support Forces (FSR). Daglo.
The parties pledged to cease violence across the country to allow "the arrival of humanitarian aid", according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
The general command of the armed forces, however, declared that it reserves the "right to respond to any violation that the rebels may commit".
"We reiterate our full commitment to the ceasefire," said the paramilitaries.
Sudan specialist Aly Verjee, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, hardly sees how this truce could hold more than the others.
“It is difficult to see that a truce based on the same criteria (as before), especially of such a short duration, will lead to a significantly different result. That said, even a reduction in violence would be welcome for those who live under fire," he said.
The war has already claimed more than 1,800 lives, according to the organization ACLED, which specializes in collecting information in conflict zones, as well as two million displaced persons and refugees according to the UN.
In the combat zones, which take place mainly in the capital Khartoum and the vast region of Darfur (west), the NGOs continue to warn of the deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
"In Khartoum, we estimate that only 20% of health facilities are still functioning," said Friday the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Alfonso Verdu Perez, at a press conference in Geneva.
"In recent weeks, we have managed to deliver surgical equipment to ten hospitals" in the capital, "but the needs are immense and there is still a lot to do," he added.
"If the parties do not respect the 24-hour ceasefire, the mediators should consider adjourning the Jeddah talks," warned the Saudi and American mediators who have been overseeing negotiations for weeks in Saudi Arabia between rival camps. .
Riyadh said last week that it was seeking with the Americans to "continue discussions" to reach an "effective" ceasefire, after negotiations were officially suspended.
On the diplomatic level, the Sudanese government this week declared persona non grata the UN envoy to Sudan, the German Volker Perthes, accusing him of having taken part in the conflict.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary general, on Friday judged this decision "contrary" to the principles of the United Nations and "not applicable", noting that its status was "unchanged".
06/10/2023 08:14:04 - Khartoum (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
