The warring parties in Sudan exchanged on Saturday accusations over non-compliance with the ongoing ceasefire, and each side held the other responsible for violations.
The Sudanese army said on Saturday that it had thwarted an attempt by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to seize power in Sudan supported by “parties inside and outside” the country, without identifying those parties.
“The conspiracy was big and was planned by entities inside and outside the country, but it was thwarted thanks to the steadfastness of the armed forces,” the army said in a statement.
“The rebels’ attempt to seize power under a political cover failed,” the army added.
The army described the ongoing clashes with the RSF as “a battle that has no room for false neutrality,” vowing that they will “soon achieve victory, and protect the Sudanese state and its established institutions.
The army renewed its call for members of the RSF to “refrain from sabotaging the country and to join the ranks of the armed forces.”
On the other hand, the RSF accused the Sudanese army of violating the humanitarian truce between them.
The RSF said in a statement on Twitter that the Sudanese army attacked, on Saturday morning, a number of “positions of our forces and a number of residential neighbourhoods in Khartoum by air and artillery.
The RSF renewed its pledge to abide by the announced truce “to open safe passages for citizens to meet their basic needs and facilitate the evacuation of foreign nationals.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the fight for power in Sudan is “unacceptable and unjustified,” confirming that the Sudanese people aspire to a civil and political leadership.
Guterres stressed, in a statement on Saturday, the need to end the conflict and reach a permanent ceasefire in Sudan; so the country can return to dialog and stability and pave the way for a democratic transition.
He noted that the conflicting parties have been reached for a ceasefire, but fighting is returning again.
He noted that the United Nations (UN) will not abandon Sudan, and that it will work hard to provide security conditions and humanitarian support for the Sudanese people, especially as the country suffers from fragile economic conditions and major humanitarian and security problems.
Guterres stressed the need for Al-Burhan and Hamidti to show moral responsibility so that Sudan is not destroyed and fragmented, stressing that there is international fear of the eruption of an ethnic conflict in the country, in light of the continuation of the ethnic conflict in Darfur; this is a constant threat to the region.
He added that international organizations – the UN, the African Union (AU), IGAD, and the Arab League (AL)- have called for a ceasefire in Sudan.
He pointed out that a dialog must be established between the conflicting parties in order to reach an agreement, explaining that there are many actors in Sudan that must be involved to resolve the current crisis.
UN Secretary-General invited them – as well as the heads of state of Kenya, South Sudan and Djibouti – to unite as an international community; to create favorable opportunities and to talk to the conflicting parties.
He confirmed that the truce currently announced in Sudan is the third in the last 72 hours, noting that bombings are still ongoing; the death toll has risen and the suffering of the Sudanese people has increased.
In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry received on Saturday a phone call from Deng Daw, acting foreign minister of South Sudan, for consultations on the current crisis in Sudan.
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the call included a review of the efforts made by the two sides to promote and support reaching a permanent ceasefire in Sudan.
This comes on the basis of the Egyptian-South Sudanese initiative agreed upon during the contact between President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and President Salva Kiir on April 16.
Minister Shoukry stressed during the call that Egypt and South Sudan are among the countries most affected by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, especially in light of the existence of large common borders between the two countries and the State of Sudan.
The two sides stressed that the interest of the brotherly Sudanese people remains the main concern and the goal behind the efforts of the two countries.
