Saudi Arabia and the United States said the warring sides in Sudan's conflict are adhering better to a new, weeklong ceasefire following days of sporadic fighting.
The truce, brokered by Riyadh and Washington, went into effect on Monday, but fighting continued in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and the western Darfur region. Particularly intense clashes flared up on Wednesday, the two mediators said in a joint statement on Friday.
The conflict in Sudan erupted in mid-April after months of escalating tensions between the military, led by General Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a powerful paramilitary commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The conflict has killed at least 863 civilians, including at least 190 children, according to the most recent numbers from the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate.
The latest, weeklong ceasefire is the seventh attempt at a truce after the others were violated.
A new cross-party committee tasked with monitoring potential violations observed Wednesday the “use of artillery and military aircraft and drones, credible reports of air strikes, sustained fighting" in Khartoum and Darfur.
Aid delivery
Amid the reported calm on Thursday, humanitarian missions were able on to deliver "urgently needed medical supplies to several locations in Sudan,” the joint statement said. Efforts were also underway to restore telecommunications services in Khartoum and other areas of the country, it said.
On Friday, Khartoum residents reported only sporadic gunfire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned both parties of possiblesanctions if the latest ceasefire was not adhered to.
The United Nations says that more than a million Sudanese have been internally displaced, while some 300,000 have fled to neighbouring countries. The conflict has pushed the East African country to the brink of collapse, with urban areas of Khartoum and its adjacent city of Omdurman disintegrating into battlegrounds.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said late Thursday that the World Food Program has reached more than half a million people in nine states in Sudan with food and nutrition support since restarting distributions about three weeks ago.
Riyadh and Washington called on the Sudanese military and the RSF to continue to respect the ceasefire.
