Call for Eid ceasefire in Sudan as fighting continues

Kathmandu: Amid raging fighting in Sudan, international leaders have urged Sudan’s army chief to agree to a ceasefire in conjunction with the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and the Egyptian intelligence chief have called the Sudan’s army chief general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, urging him to agree to a ceasefire during Eid holiday.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was among the leaders to call for Sudan’s warring factions to observe a three-day truce over Eid to allow civilians to reach safety.

Speaking to reporters after virtual meeting with the heads of the African Union, the Arab League and other organisations, Guterres said, ‘There was a strong consensus on condemning ongoing fighting in Sudan and calling for cessation of hostilities as an immediate priority.’

Civilians trapped in conflict zones should be allowed to escape and seek medical treatment, food and other supplies, he added.

The fighting that broke out on Saturday between the regular army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed hundreds and injured thousands.

At least 350 people have been killed in the fighting so far, Aljazeera reported. As the fighting enters seventh day, many areas were rocked by further shelling on Friday.

The fiercest battles between the army and the RSF have been around Khartoum – one of Africa’s largest urban areas – and in Darfur, a region still scarred by a long-running conflict that ended three years ago.

A doctors’ group separately said at least 26 people were killed and 33 injured in El-Obeid, a city west of Khartoum, on Thursday. Witnesses there described clashes between the army and RSF troops as well as widespread looting.