The Sudanese Armed Forces have agreed to extend the ongoing truce, mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, for another 72 hours which will take effect from the date of the end of the current truce, a statement reportedly says.
The Sudanese army has pounded fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with air strikes in the capital, Khartoum, while deadly fighting has flared in western Darfur.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat have discussed working together to create a sustainable end to the fighting that erupted on April 15.
The Sudanese army has hit paramilitary fighters with air strikes in the capital, Khartoum.
Deadly fighting has also flared in Darfur as a three-day ceasefire is set to expire. The ceasefire had slowed some of the fighting but there is fears it will intensify again, prompting international efforts to secure an extension.
African Union appeals to Sudan’s neighbours to help people fleeing
The African Union has appealed to Sudan’s neighbours and the international community to help people fleeing the deadly fighting there and has renewed a call for a ceasefire.
AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat “continues to monitor with growing grave concern the plight of civilians caught up in the deadly conflict in Sudan”, his office said in a statement.
“The chairperson renews the call on Sudan’s neighbours, relevant regional and global agencies to facilitate the transit and safety of civilians crossing their borders without impediment,” it added.
Faki also called again for the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to “immediately agree on a permanent ceasefire to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Sudanese in dire need”.
Only relatively small number of Americans seeking to leave Sudan: Pentagon
Only a relatively small number of Americans are seeking to leave Sudan at the moment and international flights are still departing the country, the Pentagon has said, when asked about the possibility of a military evacuation by sea.
“We’re working very closely with the State Department to identify the number of Americans who want to leave Sudan,” said Brigadier General Patrick Ryder.
“As of right now, the indications that we have is that those numbers are relatively small. However, we do recognise that that could change quickly.”
Sudanese mother recounts journey to Egypt border from Omdurman
Saher, a Sudanese-American who has been trying to cross the border into Egypt with her family including her two young children, has told Al Jazeera that it took them two days to reach the border from Omdurman, where they live.
She is currently stuck in a town called Halfa, located on the border.
“There’s people camping outside with no food or water, just waiting for their visas,” Saher told Al Jazeera, adding that she is trying to get her family’s visas done “prior to arriving to hopefully speed up the process”.
“We had to find a driver willing to take us to a bus stop to board for Egypt since the roads are dangerous. There’s not many people willing to risk their lives and the ones that do ask for an insane amount of money, because gas has become rare and people are selling it at a black market price – roughly $50 per gallon [four litres],” she said.
“To get to our bus stop we took a detour to avoid all the main bridges. But even then we still ran into both armies and checkpoints.There were burned down buildings and cars. The roads were empty, just families leaving with their luggage trying to flee as well.
“Each checkpoint we passed through was risky and whether you get through just depends on your fate. We were stopped and asked who was traveling with us but weren’t searched. On the bus ride we were stopped a few times. They look for male doctors, pilots and police officers because they are not allowed to leave the country at all.”
