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The warring parties in Sudan could not agree to a ceasefire, but signed a commitment to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and to restore some services to citizens battered by nearly four weeks of intense fighting, two senior administration officials said on Thursday.
The deal, brokered by diplomats from the United States and Saudi Arabia after six days of talks in Jeddah, fell short of negotiators’ original goal of reaching a ceasefire. It is a “declaration of commitment to protect Sudanese civilians.” The goals of the pact include delivering humanitarian aid, restoring essential services, withdrawing fighters from hospitals and clinics and allowing residents to bury their dead safely.
The northeast African country of Sudan, with a population of 48 million, has been torn apart since conflict broke out on April 15 between the forces of two rival generals, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who controls the Sudanese military, and Lt. General Mohamed Hamdan, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Force.
The violence has plunged Sudan into a full-blown humanitarian crisis, leaving millions without water, food, electricity or healthcare. Aid organizations have reported that warehouses have been looted and workers killed, forcing many groups to suspend operations.
At least 600 people have been killed and more than 5,000 injured in the conflict, according to Sudan’s Ministry of Health; the true death toll is likely higher. More than 700,000 people have been internally displaced, and more than 160,000 have fled to neighboring countries, many of whom have become large refugee populations and face economic hardship.
One US State Department official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations, said talks would begin on Friday on a ceasefire to implement the “declaration of commitment” the Americans announced on Thursday. The aim is to build on these initial steps towards a cessation of hostilities and the eventual restoration of Sudan’s civilian government – an aspiration that Sudan has been unable to achieve as the two warring generals have refused to share or cede power to civilians.
The official said the title of the agreement was requested by the warring parties to show their commitment to protect civilians, even as they perpetrated genocide in Sudan.
Some ceasefires have been agreed upon by both sides. None of that was honored, although some did defuse the fighting for a time, allowing foreigners and nearly one million Sudanese civilians to flee.
After the first shots were fired in the capital, Khartoum, the war quickly spread across the country, with violence particularly high in the western Darfur region and, last week, in the town of El-Obeid in south-central Sudan.
In cities like Khartoum, fighting has taken place in densely populated areas, with both sides deploying machine guns, bazookas, rockets and, in the case of the army, fighter jets. Officers with paramilitary forces have taken defensive positions in neighborhoods and hospitals, according to residents, with the army retaliating by shelling people.
The United Nations’ top human rights body held an emergency session in Geneva on Thursday to draw attention to the killings, injuries and other abuses of civilians. The head of the body, Volker Turk, accused both sides of violating humanitarian law.
As the fighting intensified, hospitals, laboratories and medical workers, who had been operating in difficult conditions and without supplies, were increasingly under attack.
Both sides have repeatedly agreed to, and broken, ceasefires negotiated by foreign officials. These include a 72-hour ceasefire brokered by the United States in late April and a week-long ceasefire announced by South Sudan this month.
Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reports from Nairobi.
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