Sudan’s army rejects RSF call for temporary truce

KHARTOUM, Sudan

The Sudanese army on Tuesday rejected a call by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for a temporary truce.

“We have no idea about coordination with international mediators about any truce,” the army said in a statement.

“The call for this truce by the rebels at the moment aims to cover up their heavy defeat,” it added.

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said earlier Tuesday that he agreed to a 24-hour truce after speaking with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“The RSF reaffirms its approval of a 24-hour armistice to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of the wounded,” he added.

On Sunday, the army and RSF agreed to a UN proposal to open hours-long safe passages for humanitarian cases.

Armed clashes continued for the fourth day between the Sudanese army and RSF fighters in Khartoum and its surrounding areas.

More than 180 people have been killed and 1,800 others injured in the ongoing violence, according to UN figures.

A disagreement between the two military rivals regarding military and security reform, which envisages the full participation of the RSF in the army, has turned into a hot conflict in the last few months.

The dispute between the two sides came to the surface last week, when the army said recent movements by the RSF had occurred without coordination and were illegal.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.