Breached Sudan truce extended five days: US, Saudi mediators

Destroyed vehicles are pictured outside the burnt-down headquarters of Sudan's Central Bureau of Statistics, on al-Sittin (sixty) road in the south of Khartoum on May 29, 2023. Credit: AFP Photo

The United States and Saudi Arabia said late Monday that a humanitarian truce, repeatedly violated by warring sides in Sudan, has been extended by five days.

The mediators "welcome agreement by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to a five-day extension of the ceasefire agreement they signed on May 20, 2023," a joint statement said.

A day earlier the mediators had said there were "violations by both parties that significantly impeded" the truce's goals of allowing humanitarian aid for civilians, delivered through secure corridors, and the restoration of essential services.

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They added that both the army and the paramilitary RSF were "posturing for further escalation".

Shortly before the initial one-week ceasefire was to expire at 1945 GMT, Washington and Riyadh announced the extension.

"While imperfectly observed, the May 20, 2023 ceasefire enabled delivery of humanitarian assistance", they said. "The extension will permit further humanitarian efforts."

A record 25 million people, more than half Sudan's population, are in need of humanitarian aid and protection, the UN has said.