Sudan rival factions agree to 72-hour ceasefire, more than 400 people have been killed so far

The situation in Sudan has been very critical due to the ongoing civil war. Amid continuous firing and shelling, there has been acute shortage of basic essential items. Meanwhile, two warring factions, Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, of Sudan have agreed to a three-day ceasefire, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday afternoon. Both sides have also declared a ceasefire on their side.

Antony Blinken said in a statement, “The leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they would stop fighting temporarily after “intense negotiation” over the last two days.”

The announcement comes after the American military evacuated US Embassy personnel from Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. But, it’s unclear whether the two sides will honor the ceasefire over the full time span, given widespread reports of continued clashes during a previous ceasefire attempt.

Meanwhile, the UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned that the violence between warring parties in Sudan “could engulf the whole region and beyond.” He told a meeting of the UN Security Council on multilateralism that the situation in Sudan “continues to worsen.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) said, ” As rival generals battled for the ninth day with no sign of a truce in Sudan, more than 400 people have been killed and 3,351 have been injured in the conflict. The fighting is part of ongoing clashes between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to media reports, The United Nations children’s agency said as many as nine children have been reportedly killed in the fighting and more than 50 have been seriously injured.

India has launched ‘Operation Kaveri’ to bring back its citizens stranded in war-torn Sudan. Many other countries have also initiated evacuation process to take out their diplomates from Sudan. Earlier, on Sunday, US and UK announced they had flown diplomats out of the country. France, Germany, Italy and Spain have also been evacuating diplomats and other nationals. US authorities said they had airlifted fewer than 100 people with three Chinook helicopters in a “fast and clean” operation.

The UK government managed to airlift British diplomats and their families out of the country in what was described as a “complex and rapid” operation.