Saudi Arabia and United States have announced that on May 20, 2023, in Jeddah, representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces signed an Agreement on a Short-Term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangements.
According to the statement released from the office of the State Department Spokesperson on Saturday, stated the short-term ceasefire, will enter into force 48 hours after signing of the Agreement, shall remain in effect for seven days which may be extended by both parties.
Pre-negotiation talks started between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Jeddah on May 6th 2023 supporting the talks, includes Quad countries (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States).
With nearly five weeks of heavy fighting which resulted to hundreds of people killed and displaced nearly 450,000 civilians. Of that total, the International Organization for Migration said, more than 115,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries like Egypt, Ethiopia among others.
The statement further said under the Agreement, the parties agreed to facilitate the delivery and distribution of humanitarian assistance, restore essential services, and withdraw forces from hospitals and essential public facilities.
The parties also agreed to facilitate the safe passage of humanitarian actors and commodities, allowing goods to flow unimpeded from ports of entry to populations in need.
Both parties have conveyed to the Saudi and U.S. facilitators their commitment not to seek military advantage during the 48-hour notification period after signing the agreement and prior to the start of the ceasefire.
The ceasefire will go into effect at 09:45 p.m., Khartoum time, on May 22. It is well known that the parties previously announced ceasefires that have not been observed.
Unlike previous ceasefires, the Agreement reached in Jeddah was signed by the conflicting parties and will be supported by U.S.-Saudi, international-supported ceasefire monitoring mechanism. This short-term ceasefire is in line with the step-by-step approach agreed by the parties.
“It is anticipated that subsequent talks will focus on additional steps necessary to improve security and humanitarian conditions for civilians such as vacating forces from urban centers, including civilian homes, accelerating removal of impediments to the free movement of civilians and humanitarian actors, and enabling public servants to resume their regular duties.
“Given the brutality of the conflict, our immediate focus has been on stopping the fighting to relieve the suffering of the Sudanese people. The Jeddah talks have focused on a short-term ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian assistance and restoration of essential services.
“They are not a political process and should not be perceived as one. We anticipate that subsequent talks in Jeddah will address steps needed to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities.
“We look forward to leadership by Sudanese civilian stakeholders, with the support of the regional and international community, on a political process to resume a democratic transition and form a civilian government”.
The statement added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States stand by Sudanese and demanded the parties fully abide by their commitments under this Agreement for a short-term humanitarian ceasefire to provide them with urgently needed relief.