The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a competing force, agreed to an extension early on Thursday evening, and the regular army of Sudan followed suit hours later. The army has consented to send delegates to the peace negotiations, which South Sudan has promised to host. However, there are still reports of intense fighting in Khartoum, the capital.
Despite the painful past and protracted conflict that caused South Sudan to secede from Sudan in 2011, the two countries now have friendly relations. While acknowledging that the ceasefire was not perfect, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Washington was “very actively working” on extending it.
Karine Jean-Pierre, a spokeswoman for the White House, later asserted that things could get worse at any time. Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed, tweeted that he had contacted both of the opposing generals and encouraged them to resolve their disagreements amicably.
The army was reportedly hammering its positions in Khartoum in the meantime. Maryam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, the former fforeign minister told the BBC from Khartoum that notwithstanding the ceasefire, citizens continued to live in fear.
“What they call a truce has nothing to do with what is happening, the bombardment by the aeroplanes is taking place almost all day and night.”
The battle has claimed the lives of at least 512 people and injured about 4,200 more, however the actual death toll may be significantly higher.
According to the World Health Organisation, illness outbreaks and a shortage of services will cause “many more” deaths. Health officials claim that over 60% of healthcare institutions in Khartoum are dormant, and the majority of hospitals in combat zones are not operating.
“The fact that for the last 10 days pretty much all the media coverage and the vast bulk of political attention has been on getting out thousands of people and not on the need to tend to millions of people really sticks in the gullet,” averred David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee and erstwhile British foreign secretary,.
“Of course the lives of the thousands who need to evacuate are important, but what about the 45 million who are left?
“Sudan’s population has 15 million people in humanitarian need and I think part of our call today as the International Rescue Committee is to say let’s not fall into that trap of thinking that once thousands are evacuated the problem is solved.”
Local residents are still evacuating the capital, wherein there are shortages of food, water, and fuel. According to the UN children’s organisation, the number of Sudanese escaping the war in Darfur has surpassed the number of Chadians living in the village of Koufroun across the border.
