3-Day Cease-fire Begins in Sudan Amid Humanitarian Crisis
Sudan’s warring factions commenced a three-day cease-fire on Sunday, bringing a temporary respite to the country mired in two months of conflict. Residents of the capital Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman reported a relative calm in the first hours of the truce following intense skirmishes a day prior.
The cease-fire arrives ahead of a UN-organized pledging conference set for Monday, aimed at raising funds to alleviate Sudan’s escalating humanitarian needs. The UN confirmed it had received less than 16% of the required $2.57 billion to aid those affected within Sudan in 2023, while an additional $470 million is necessary to support refugees in the Horn of Africa.
The cease-fire announcement was a result of the concerted diplomatic efforts by the US and Saudi Arabia, who have been pushing for a cessation of conflict over the past two months. The rival factions—the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces—have agreed to halt fighting and abstain from seeking military advantage during the cease-fire, according to a joint US-Saudi statement.
Sudan’s conflict has claimed over 3,000 lives, injured 6,000, and displaced 2.2 million people, according to Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim. The country’s health care system is nearing collapse, with the World Health Organization warning that more than half the country’s population requires humanitarian assistance, including over 100,000 children facing severe acute malnutrition.
