According to a statement made by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday, the fighting generals in Sudan have agreed to uphold a three-day truce in order to stop the rising violence in the East African country.
The deal was reached, according to Blinken, after “intense negotiations” between the paramilitary General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), also known as Hemedti, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under the command of Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan.
“To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, as well as Sudanese civilian stakeholders, to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan,” he continued.
As the violence escalated over the weekend, the US closed its embassy in Khartoum and evacuated its staff. According to a statement made by the State Department earlier on Monday, Washington is presently considering alternatives for reestablish diplomatic relations with the nation, maybe with a new presence based in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
Since April 15, when fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, which the military had labeled a rebel group, erupted in the nation’s capital Khartoum and other places, at least 413 people have died and 3,551 have been injured.
The army and RSF had been at odds over reforming military security in recent months. One of the key concerns in the negotiations between international and regional parties for the changeover to civilian and democratic government in Sudan is the reform’s full inclusion of the RSF in the military.