Captured Sudanese soldiers released by paramilitary group

By Nathan Morley

The International Committee of the Red Cross has helped secure the release of Sudanese soldiers held by the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

According to an ICRC statement, 44 of the freed men were injured but fit to travel with the rest of the group from Khartoum to Wad Madani, south of the capital.

Jean Christophe Sandoz, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Sudan said: “This positive step means that families will be celebrating Eid-al Adha with their loved ones. We stand ready to act as a neutral intermediary for the release of detainees from all side to the conflict whenever requested.”

The ongoing fighting continues to pit the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Cease-fire breaking down

Meanwhile, a two-day cease-fire for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha slated for earlier this week was quick to break down. The RSF’s leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti, had declared a 48-hour unilateral truce which began on Tuesday, but failed to hold.

Previous truces in the conflict have been equally unsuccessful.

Sudan descended into chaos back in April. Since then, the country has been enduring deadly armed clashes between the army and the RSF in the capital and other districts, which have left over 3,000 people dead and thousands of others injured.

The UN estimates that about 2.5 million people have been displaced inside and outside of Sudan since the conflict broke out.