Sudan’s RSF Announces Unilateral Truce, Army Confirms Main Base Captured

By Staff, Agencies

Sudan's paramilitary forces, which have been fighting the country's army for months, have announced a unilateral truce during the Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF], made the announcement in an audio recording aired on al-Arabiya news channel on Monday, adding that the truce will be effective on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The North African country has been the scene of intense fighting between the army and the rival RSF since mid-April over a power struggle between the army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Dagalo.

More than 2,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict so far, which has seen the army targeting the paramilitary force's positions with airstrikes and the latter responding with artillery and anti-aircraft fire.

The new ceasefire announcement came after several previous truces, mediated by Saudi Arabia and the United States, were violated repeatedly by both sides.

It also came after on Monday, the Sudanese army confirmed that the RSF had seized the main base of a well-equipped police brigade in the capital Khartoum.

The paramilitary force had claimed the capture of the Central Reserve Police headquarters in southern Khartoum on Sunday, posting footage of its fighters inside the facility who were removing boxes of ammunition from a warehouse.

The RSF has also claimed the capture of dozens of armored vehicles and pickup trucks after seizing the headquarters, which has consolidated its position in southern Khartoum where several important military camps are situated.

The army said in a statement that the base was taken after three days of fighting, accusing the RSF of attacking "state institutions." Local activists said at least 15 civilians were killed in the fighting and more than 80 others seriously wounded.

Separately on Monday, residents took to social media to report an attack by Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North [SPLM-N], the country's most powerful rebel group, in the city of Kurmuk in Blue Nile state on the border with Ethiopia.

According to the United Nations mission in Sudan, hundreds of civilians have crossed the border into Ethiopia to seek safety due to clashes in Blue Nile on Sunday and Monday.

Clashes linked to tribal tensions in Blue Nile state left hundreds dead last year.

Last week, the SPLM-N clashed with the army in South Kordofan state, raising fears the conflict could spread across Sudan's southern regions.

The war in Sudan has created a major humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 2.5 million people, about 600,000 of whom have crossed into neighboring countries. Most have headed north to Egypt or west into Chad.