World News | UN Envoy: Humanitarian agreement between warring parties is first step towards ceasefire in Sudan

CAIRO, May 12 (AP) — The United Nations envoy to Sudan on Friday welcomed an agreement between the country’s warring generals that promises safe passage for civilians fleeing conflict in the East African nation and protects humanitarian operations.

Special envoy Volker Perthes said the deal was an important first step towards a ceasefire as fighting enters its fourth week.

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Sudan’s military and the country’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) signed an agreement late Thursday vowing to ease humanitarian suffering across the country, although a truce remains elusive.

The two sides also agreed to refrain from attacks that could harm civilians.

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“The most important factor is the commitment of both parties to continue negotiations,” Potus said at an online U.N. news conference from his office in Port Sudan. He added that the international community had begun efforts to turn the agreement into a ceasefire.

The AP obtained a copy of the agreement, which outlines a series of shared pledges and pledges to “promote humanitarian action to meet the needs of civilians.”

The signing of the agreement, brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, was broadcast by Saudi state media in the early hours of Friday.

It did not detail how troops on the ground would meet agreed humanitarian commitments. This follows several brief ceasefires agreed to by both sides since fighting broke out on April 15, but have been violated.

Violence in Sudan has killed more than 600 people so far, including civilians, according to the World Health Organization. Fighting has since turned the capital, Khartoum, into an urban battlefield, sparking deadly ethnic clashes in West Darfur.

About 200,000 people have fled the country, said Olga Sarrado, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, who also attended Friday’s news conference.

The State Department said late on Thursday that the talks in Jeddah would now focus on an “effective ceasefire of up to approximately 10 days”.

The United Nations and several human rights groups have accused both sides – the army led by General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo – of repeated human rights violations. The military has been accused of indiscriminately bombing civilian areas, while the RSF has been blamed for widespread looting, mistreatment of residents and the conversion of homes into bases of operations. The two sides continued to point fingers at each other over the violations.

Potus, who received death threats and phone calls to resign, said he was committed to staying in Port Sudan and overseeing humanitarian work in the coastal city. He described those who threatened him as fringe “extremists” and said there was widespread appreciation for the UN’s efforts in Sudan. (Associated Press)

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