Our priority is to stop the war before talking about any agreements
Hours away from the entry into force of the short truce between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in SudanQuiet prevailed in the capital, Khartoum.
Faced with this situation, the Vice-President of the Sudanese Sovereign Council, Malik Agar, commented on Sunday, stressing that the previous truces had difficulty in implementing the mechanism.
The priority is to stop the war
He said in a statement to Al-Arabiya / Al-Hadath, prior to a press conference to be held in Cairo, that the current truce in Sudan needs to be well monitored.
He also stressed that the success of the armistice in Sudan requires good control on the ground, stressing that this is not available.
The military official pointed out that the situation in Darfur is catastrophic, but nevertheless considered that it was premature to talk about a civil war there.
He made it clear that the initiatives that talk about the intervention of foreign forces do not respect Sudan’s sovereignty, stressing that the Sudanese army commander, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, is the one leading the battle on the ground.
Agar also announced that the priority of the armed forces today lies in stopping the war in Sudan, saying: “Stopping the war is our urgent priority before talking about any agreements.”
Many truces
It is noteworthy that the intensity of the aerial bombardment had increased in the last two days, before Saudi Arabia and the United States, the sponsors of the dialogue, announced that the two major military forces in Sudan had agreed on a new truce that would extend for 72 hours, in order to facilitate the passage of humanitarian aid.
They also made it clear that the two sides agreed to “stop movements and attacks, the use of warplanes or drones, artillery bombardment, reinforcement of positions, or resupply of forces” during the cease-fire period. They also pledged to allow “freedom of movement and the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Sudan.”
And they confirmed in a statement late on Saturday that in the event that the two parties do not adhere to the cease-fire, “the facilitators will be forced to consider postponing the Jeddah talks.”
Dozens of truces were announced during the past months between the two sides, but none of them lasted for long, while the two sides exchanged responsibilities.
The conflict, which erupted on April 15, killed more than 2,000 people, according to the latest figures from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). However, the actual numbers may be much higher, according to aid agencies and international organizations.
The battles have also forced more than 2.2 million people to flee, more than 528,000 of whom have sought refuge in neighboring countries, according to the International Organization for Migration.
While more than 149,000 people crossed into Chad on the border with the Darfur region, where the situation is of growing concern, especially in El Geneina, the center of West Darfur state, one of the five states of the region.
