Sudan warring parties agree in principle to seven-day truce from May 4 to 11

AFP | Juba                                                   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The warring parties in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day truce starting May 4, in a phone conversation with South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir, the foreign ministry in Juba said yesterday, raising hopes of an end to weeks of bloodshed.

Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, “have agreed in principle for a seven-day truce from May 4th to 11th,” the ministry said in a statement.

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded in the fighting as air strikes and artillery exchanges have pounded swathes of greater Khartoum, sparking the exodus of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries.

The two sides have also agreed “to name their representatives to peace talks to be held at any venue of their choice”, the statement from Juba said. Kiir was speaking to Burhan and Daglo as part of an initiative by the East African regional bloc IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development), which has been pushing for an end to the fighting, echoing calls by the African Union and the international community.

The announcement came as diplomatic efforts intensified to end more than two weeks of war in Africa’s third-largest country. Warnings have multiplied of the potential for a “catastrophic” humanitarian crisis that the UN said has already caused more than 430,000 people to flee their homes.

Multiple truces agreed since fighting began on April 15 have been repeatedly violated, including one previously announced by South Sudan early in the fighting, which saw renewed air strikes yesterday.