The Army and the paramilitaries of Sudan will negotiate a ceasefire of 10 days

The Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (FAR) paramilitary group will continue their negotiations in Sudan in order to reach an “effective ceasefire” for 10 days, after they signed, in a first round of dialogue in Saudi Arabia. , an agreement in principle to allow the flow of aid and protect civilians, was officially reported this Friday.

“After the signing, the talks (in the port city) of Jeddah will focus on reaching an agreement on an effective ceasefire for a maximum of 10 days,” said a joint statement from Saudi Arabia and the United States, mediators of the dialogue, reproduced today by the official Saudi news agency, SPA.

The note highlights that this hoped-for truce “to facilitate humanitarian activities” will include “security measures that will include a ceasefire monitoring mechanism supported by the United States, Saudi Arabia and the international community.”.

The Jeddah Declaration, announced after indirect negotiations between the Army and the paramilitaries, does not include an announcement of a new truce after the end, on Thursday, of the seven-day pause sponsored by South Sudan and which, like the previous ones, has not been respected by either side.

According to the statement, the dialogue that began last Saturday in Saudi Arabia will address, in a future phase, “the proposed arrangements for subsequent talks, with Sudanese civilians and regional and international partners, on a permanent cessation of hostilities.”. The note also underlines the “hope” of the mediators -Saudi Arabia and the US, with the help of the United Nations-, “that Sudanese civilians and regional and international partners participate in the next rounds” of the talks..

According to the UN, the fighting has caused the death of more than 600 civilians and injured more than 5,000 others, in addition to the internal displacement of 700,000 Sudanese and the flight of more than 120,000 others..

200,000 Sudanese have fled

In addition, the United Nations Agency for Refugees has said this Friday that the displaced Sudanese who have arrived in neighboring countries have reached 200,000, of whom the vast majority are women and children..

The considerable increase in this figure is the result of new information transmitted by the Egyptian authorities about the number of Sudanese welcomed and the acceleration of arrivals in Chad, from the Sudanese region of Darfur, explained the agency's spokeswoman, Olga Sarrado..

The situation is particularly difficult in Chad, as refugees are arriving in precarious locations that do not have basic services, so UNHCR plans to set up camps where they can stay until they return..