Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Wednesday urged the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) to respect the ceasefire to ease the suffering of civilians caught up in the fighting.
The call followed a meeting between Izzat Youssef, the political advisor of the RSF, and President Salva Kiir Mayardit in Juba on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Youssef, reiterated RSF’s commitment to a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire.
“We understand that after the ceasefire declared in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, there will be humanitarian access. The situation is normal in Khartoum and RSF have been protecting embassies and helping those exiting Khartoum,” he said. “We stand for the ceasefire and call on Al-Burhan to respect the ceasefire. RSF is not involved in the chaos in Khartoum and we have given an order to protect civilians.”
“If there is anyone in RSF who violates the ceasefire, he will be investigated because we are there to protect civilians and their property,” RSF’s Youseff added.
On 5 May, Sudan’s health authorities claimed that out of 130 public and private hospitals in Khartoum, more than 30 were occupied by RSF, a claim Youseff denied.
“There is a lot of war propaganda that the RSF have taken control of hospitals but that is not the reality on the ground. We are positioned to stand and cooperate with President Salva Kiir and his team to achieve peace in Sudan,” he said. “There is no direct military operation in Khartoum and the danger is aerial bombardment and artillery fire by SAF which is continuous and repetitive. The most affected are civilians and the solution is to stop hostilities and work for peace and humanitarian access.”
For his part, Deng Dau Deng, South Sudan’s acting minister of foreign affairs, said President Salva Kiir stressed the need for the warring parties to respect the ceasefire to pave the way for peace talks.
“The president asked that after the cessation of hostilities, there should be real talks on issues that have caused the conflict so that the war can stop in Sudan,” he said.