Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit on Wednesday called on conflicting Sudanese parties to cease fire during the upcoming Eid al-Fitr (festival of breaking the fast) holiday that follows the holy month of Ramadan.
“I call on the brothers in Sudan from the Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) … to announce a ceasefire during the Eid days,” the chief of the pan-Arab organization said in a video statement.
Sudan has been witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict.
“Let the Eid days be a truce in which fire ceases on both sides in a comprehensive and complete way,” Aboul-Gheit said.
“This is a message of a purely humanitarian call, which has nothing to do with the political position on the crisis,” the AL chief added.
Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr for three days to mark the completion of the holy month of Ramadan. Whether the Eid al-Fitr will fall on Friday or Saturday is decided by the sighting of the crescent moon on Thursday by Muslim scholars.
Fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) raged on for the fourth day. The conflict in Sudan has killed about 270 people and wounded more than 2,600 as of Tuesday, with gunfire and explosions still heard here across the city.
The clashes continued on Wednesday as violent explosions hammered the vicinity of the army’s general command in central Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, eyewitnesses said.
The Sudanese army confirmed on Wednesday that it is countering a new attack by the RSF.
“The enemy suffered heavy losses in lives besides destruction of a number of combat vehicles,” the office of the Sudanese army spokesman said in a statement.
A huge smoke cloud enveloped Khartoum airport due to an explosion of fuel tanks inside the airport, according to eyewitnesses.
Violent clashes also broke out Wednesday morning at the RSF camp in the Kafouri area north of Khartoum.
Although the two sides declared commitment to a 24-hour humanitarian truce proposed by international parties on Tuesday, fighting still raged in the country.
