KHARTOUM, SUDAN — The United Nations says Sudan’s military and a paramilitary force have agreed to a three-hour humanitarian pause in fighting that has killed at least 56 people and injured hundreds since Saturday.
A U.N. statement said both the military and the Rapid Support Forces group accepted the terms of the proposed pause in clashes.
Earlier Sunday, heavy gunfire could be heard downtown around Sudan’s military headquarters and the presidential palace.
Both the military and the RSF have claimed control of these strategic locations.
The World Food Program says it has suspended operations in the country after three WFP employees were killed in the violence that erupted on Saturday.
Hundreds of people have been caught up in the downtown area since Saturday, including some 250 students at the Saint Daniel Comboni Catholic school in Khartoum.
The head of the Sudanese journalists’ syndicate, Abdulmuniem Abu Idris, told VOA via a messaging application that about 12 journalists, including four females, have been stranded in the Sudanese Kuwaiti business center since Saturday morning.
Abu Idris had earlier appealed to the warring parties to create a safe corridor for them to go to their families.
“I am calling on the two parties to create a safe passage for all the civilians inside the conflict areas, especially the journalists who have been stuck since yesterday,” he said.
The Sudanese–Kuwaiti business center is located east of the presidential palace along the River Nile. It is a working office space for many media outlets.
Abu Idris says described the area as a “serious” confrontation zone between the military and the RSF.
He says those journalists and other civilians would be in need of basic items to survive.
“They don’t have food; they are not in a safe area because they are inside the area of the exchange fires. And we are calling on the Red Crescent to intervene and rescue the civilians and those journalists,” he said.
Foreign Diplomats Concerned About Growing Tensions Within Sudan
The U.N. Security Council has called on the warring parties to stop fighting and engage in a dialogue to reach an amicable solution.
Reports say recent tensions between the army and the RSF stem from disagreements with how the RSF should be integrated in the army and who should oversee that process. It’s part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end a political crisis sparked by a military coup in October 2021.
Sudan Transition Deal Delayed, Protesters March Against Talks
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council held an extraordinary meeting Sunday in Nairobi to discuss the situation in Sudan. Participants appealed to the Sudanese military RSF leaders to de-escalate confrontation and restore stability.
Arab League countries also condemned the fighting in Sudan, calling for calm.
Egypt and South Sudan announced in a joint statement their intention to mediate between Sudan’s warring parties.