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rapid aid forcea paramilitary group that has been at war Sudanese The army, which has been fighting for more than two years, said on Thursday it had agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire, which was proposed by the US-led brokered grouping, also known as the Quad.
The agreement on the proposal comes a week after the RSF captured the town of al-Fashar, which has been under siege for more than 18 months. It was also the last Sudanese military stronghold in the Western Darfur region of Sudan.
“The Rapid Support Force also looks forward to implementing the agreement and immediately beginning discussions on fundamental principles guiding the political process in Sudan and mechanisms for ending hostilities, thereby addressing the root causes of the conflict and ending the suffering of the Sudanese people,” the RSF statement said.
A Sudanese military official told The Associated Press that the army would only agree to a ceasefire if the RSF completely withdrew from civilian areas and gave up weapons in accordance with previous peace proposals. The official discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.
Massad Boulos, an American consultant African Affairs said the US is working with the Sudanese army and the RSF to bring about a humanitarian ceasefire and that it could be announced soon.
“We’ve been working on this with both sides for the last about 10 days, hopefully the details will be finalized,” Boulos told the AP in an interview on Monday. The US-led plan would start with a three-month humanitarian ceasefire followed by a nine-month political process, he said.
The US is working with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – the Quad – on ways to end the war.
New waves of displacement in Sudan are raising concerns among aid groups and local doctors, who warn that the influx of people is putting additional pressure on already overcrowded camps struggling with scarce resources.
Nonprofit Islamic Relief warned in a statement Thursday that community kitchens that provide a lifeline to many families are at risk of collapse. A new survey by the group found that 83% of households in eastern and western Sudan are now without enough food.
Attack on hospital patients
On Wednesday, Sudan’s Doctors Network warned that humanitarian conditions in displacement camps west of al-Fashar, including Tawila, Kurma and Golo, were deteriorating and that the number of displaced people fleeing had increased significantly in recent days to more than 36,000.
Humanitarian organizations have long considered Sudan one of the world’s most dangerous displacement crises. Recently, more people were displaced after RSF captured el-Fashar, the capital of North Darfur and the last Sudanese military bastion, following a series of attacks by the group, which had laid siege to the city for more than a year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the paramilitary group killed more than 450 people in a local hospital and carried out door-to-door killings and sexual assaults.
The war between the RSF and the army began in 2023, when tensions arose between the two former allies who were supposed to oversee the democratic transition after a 2019 uprising. According to WHO, at least 40,000 people have been killed and 12 million displaced in the fighting. However, aid groups say the actual death toll may be many times higher. According to the World Food Programme, more than 24 million people are facing severe food insecurity.
Drones and artillery are often used
According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 70,000 people fled al-Fashar in a single week, joining thousands already displaced in the region. Some of those who fled reached the northern state on foot, making an unsafe journey, especially for women and girls.
A group of displaced people recently fled al-Fashar to the al-Afad displacement camp in the city of al-Dabbah in the northern kingdom, about 350 kilometers from the capital. khartoum,
Several people who spoke to the AP this week recounted harrowing accounts of their escape from el-Fashar. Othman Mohammed, a teacher who fled the city in late September, said he saw bodies scattered on the road and people collapsing from exhaustion and abuse as he traveled.
He said he had lived in a crisis in al-Fashar where drones and artillery were often used and food was barely available. People Often survived on ombaz until it became difficult to obtain at some point. Ombaz is what is left from pressing peanut oil.
“There is nothing in al-Fashar except beatings and killing using drones in the sky that you cannot see but it attacks you. The drone attacks you without you realizing it,” said Rawda Mohammed, who made long walks to the al-Afad camp.