New Sudan ceasefire fails to hold

By Nathan Morley

A two-day cease-fire in Sudan for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha appears to have broken down.

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

And amid the mounting bloodshed, both sides continue to accuse each other of sparking the conflict.

Earlier this week, the RSF’s leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti, declared a 48-hour unilateral truce which began on Tuesday.

He said his forces would remain in their position and would act only in self-defence. At the same time, he announced the release of 100 army prisoners.

However, by Wednesday, it was clear the ceasefire was not holding as artillery and gunfire was heard in northern districts of Khartoum.

Previous truces

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.

Just last week, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UNOCHA said the number of people arriving in Ethiopia fleeing from the conflict surpassed 52,000.