Sudanese parties agree new 72-hour cease-fire, say Saudi-US mediators

Sudan’s warring factions have agreed to a new 72-hour cease-fire starting at 6 a.m. local time on Sunday, mediators Saudi Arabia and the United States said in a joint statement.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and United States of America announce the agreement of representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a cease-fire throughout Sudan for a period of 72 hours,” the Saudi foreign ministry statement said late Saturday.

“The parties agreed that during the cease-fire they will refrain from prohibited movements, attacks, use of military aircraft or drones, artillery strikes, reinforcement of positions and resupply of forces, and will refrain from seeking military advantage during the cease-fire,” it added.

The two mediators said should the parties fail to observe the cease-fire, a postponement of ongoing Jeddah dialogue would be considered.

An earlier truce drawn up this month by Saudi Arabia and the US fell through after both sides of the Sudanese clashes accused each other of serious violations of the ceasefire.

Multiple truces have been agreed and broken during the conflict, including after the US issued sanctions on the SAF and RSF leaders following the failure of a previous attempt at the end of May.

On Saturday, air strikes killed civilians and pummeled multiple parts of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, which killed 17 people including five children and destroyed 25 homes.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is entering its third month with neither side gaining a clear advantage.