Sudan conflict parties pledge to avoid harming civilians, no truce
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The warring parties in Sudan agree to do their best to avoid harming civilians, but no truce has been brought to the table.
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Sudanese evacuees wait before boarding a Saudi military ship to Jeddah port, at Port Sudan in Sudan, May 2, 2023 (AP)
The warring parties in Sudan signed Thursday a humanitarian commitment as the country gets taken by storm in light of the battles that have been taking place for nearly a month and have claimed more than 750 lives.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), however, failed to reach a ceasefire during their participation in peace talks US diplomats have labeled "difficult".
The representatives of the RSF and SAF signed an agreement to adhere to humanitarian principles in light of ongoing talks in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh.
"We affirm our commitment to ensuring the protection of civilians at all times, including by allowing safe passage for civilians to leave areas of active hostilities on a voluntary basis in the direction of their choice," the declaration read.
Moreover, the two parties agreed in general terms to let in humanitarian assistance in the wake of looting and attacks that targeted aid provided to the crisis-stricken country.
The UN's World Food Programme said millions of dollars worth of food was looted in Khartoum.
The declaration calls for the restoration of electricity, water, and other basic services, the withdrawal of security forces from hospitals, and the respectful burial of the dead.
There is a proposal on the table that would establish a new 10-day truce, which would lead to negotiations on a longer-term end to the infighting, a US official said on the condition of anonymity.
"This is not a ceasefire. This is an affirmation of their obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly with regard to the treatment of civilians and the need to create space for humanitarians to operate," the official said.
"We are hopeful, cautiously, that their willingness to sign this document will create some momentum that will force them to create the space" to bring in humanitarian aid, the official added, though she noted that the two sides were still "quite far apart".
A Saudi official said Wednesday that the ceasefire talks between the warring parties yielded "no major progress", diminishing hopes for a swift end to the clashes, as loud explosions again rocked greater Khartoum on Wednesday, with fighting between Sudan's warring generals showing no let-up.
Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy-turned-rival Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), sent representatives to the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on Saturday for meetings that were described as "pre-negotiation talks".
Goals include reaching "an effective short-term halt" to the fighting, facilitating aid delivery, restoring basic services, and setting "a timetable for expanded negotiations to reach a permanent cessation of hostilities," as per the Saudi Foreign Ministry's statement released on Monday.
The two sides have "begun to discuss the security measures they should take in order to facilitate the delivery of urgent humanitarian aid and the restoration of essential services," the statement added.
Numerous warnings of a "catastrophic" humanitarian disaster have been issued in response to fierce warfare that has killed hundreds, injured thousands, and caused numerous warnings.
Multiple truce deals have been declared and quickly violated since battles erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15.
Sudanese war displaced double to more than 700,000: UN
The United Nations said on Tuesday that the effects of the conflict between Sudan's generals are becoming increasingly harsh for civilians, with the number of people displaced from their homes doubled in the previous week.
At least 16 people were killed in separate ethnic skirmishes in the country's south, and a significant group in the east—which has been unscathed by the war thus far—demonstrated support for the army.
More than 700,000 people are now internally displaced by battles since April 15, as per the International Organization for Migration.
"Last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000," the UN agency's spokesperson, Paul Dillon, said in Geneva.
An increasing number are also crossing borders to flee the clashes.
Fighting has been condensed in the capital Khartoum but other areas, most notably the western Darfur region bordering Chad, have also seen heavy fighting.
Read next: Sudan: A borderless conflict
