Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a 72-hour ceasefire in Sudan. After "intense negotiations" that lasted for 48 hours, both factions agreed to a pause in the fighting to allow for the opening of humanitarian corridors for civilians to reach safety or receive medical care, as well as for the evacuation of foreign embassies.
Following intense negotiations, the SAF and RSF have agreed to implement and uphold a 72-hour nationwide ceasefire starting midnight, April 24. We welcome their commitment to work with partners and stakeholders for permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 24, 2023
Sudan Negotiating Committee
This is not the first such agreement between the Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, however, previous ones have broken down before they were fulfilled. Blinken has therefore urged both sides "to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire."
To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders, to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan.
No military evacuation of citizens is foreseen
Although U.S. embassy personnel in the country were evacuated, the Biden Administration does not plan to evacuate U.S. citizens due to conditions on the ground. National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby told CNN's This Morning, on Monday, that the situation in Sudan "is not conducive and not safe to try to conduct some kind of a larger military evacuation of American citizens." However, the authorities announced that they are "actively facilitating the departure of U.S. citizens who wish to leave Sudan" via ground convoys.
