Blinken announces three-day ceasefire in Sudan starting Tuesday
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US Secretary Antony Blinken announces that a three-day ceasefire across Sudan will commence on Tuesday.
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Smoke seen in Khartoum, Sudan, Saturday, April 22, 2023 (AP)
After earlier attempts for a ceasefire in Sudan had failed, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday evening that Sudan's warring generals have agreed to a three-day ceasefire beginning Tuesday.
"Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours," Blinken announced before urging "the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire."
According to Blinken, the US has conjointly been working with allies to form a committee that would negotiate a permanent truce in Sudan.
It is worth noting that earlier on Monday, Blinken met with the top Kenyan diplomat and held phone conversations with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in order to allegedly discuss a possible ceasefire.
Evacuations ongoing, countries close embassies in Sudan
Earlier in the day, on Monday, the French Foreign Ministry announced that France closed its embassy in Sudan until further notice, as clashes in the North African country continued for the 10th day.
In an emailed statement, the Ministry indicated that the embassy’s work will continue in Paris.
In the same context, the US government announced that it evacuated all diplomatic personnel and temporarily suspended all operations at its embassy in Khartoum as of April 23.
However, the US embassy in Sudan has not yet provided information on when consular services will resume or where US nationals staying in Sudan can obtain emergency consular services if required.
Unlikely that Washington will evacuate US citizens
US Under Secretary of State John Bass said late on Saturday night that it is unlikely that Washington will evacuate US citizens in the coming days.
"We don't foresee coordinating a US government evacuation for our fellow citizens in Sudan at this time or in the coming days," Bass indicated.
He noted that the United States believes that the fighting in Sudan will not end soon but that Washington will do all that it can to rescue the American civilians still stuck there.
In the same context, the UK evacuated all its embassy staff on April 23. France, the Netherlands, and Belgium have also jointly planned to evacuate European nationals. It was reported that a French convoy came under fire on Sunday as it attempted to leave Khartoum, injuring one French national.
Other countries, including Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Jordan, Kuwait, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey, as well as the United Nations, have carried out evacuations or plan to do so.
It is not clear whether foreign governments plan to evacuate embassy staff or all of their foreign nationals, knowing that some governments are also evacuating other nationals.
It is worth noting that the governments have reportedly evacuated their staff and nationals based in Khartoum by road to connect to an operational airport outside the capital or reach Port Sudan, which enables ferry routes, including toward Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
It is noteworthy that Sudan's Khartoum International Airport remains closed as of April 24, while the Sudanese airspace is closed to commercial traffic through at least April 30.
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