Following two months of warfare that plunged the African country into anarchy, the warring parties in Sudan started a cease-fire early on Sunday morning.
After intense confrontations were recorded the day before, residents of the capital Khartoum and its neighbouring city Omdurman reported “relative calm” in the early hours of the cease-fire on Sunday morning.
The three-day standstill occurred before a pledge conference that the U.N. and other countries are planning to hold on Monday to gather money to meet Sudan’s humanitarian needs.
In 2023, the U.N. estimates that it will only have received less than 16% of the $2.57 billion needed to assist those in need in Sudan. According to the report, an additional $470 million is required to sustain refugees in the Horn of Africa.
The cease-fire deal was announced on Saturday by the United States and Saudi Arabia. Over the past two months, both have led coordinated diplomatic efforts to put an end to the fighting.
In a joint statement, the United States and Saudi Arabia claimed that the military and the Rapid Support Forces, a competing paramilitary organization, had agreed to cease hostilities and “refrain from seeking military advantage during the ceasefire.”
After months of escalating hostilities between the competing generals, the country of Sudan descended into anarchy in the middle of April, with the capital city of Khartoum and the western Darfur region suffering the brunt of the violence.
Urban places like Khartoum and others became battlegrounds as a result of the fighting. According to Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim, over 3,000 people died and over 6,000 others sustained injuries. More than 2.2 million people were compelled to leave their homes in search of safety in neighbouring countries and other parts of Sudan.
The current effort at a cease-fire, which the United States and Saudi Arabia mediated, followed a string of previous unsuccessful cease-fires. The meditators blamed the warring parties for ongoing violations.
In the nation torn by war, the humanitarian situation has gotten worse. More than half of the population of the country—at least 24.7 million people—need humanitarian aid. The World Health Organization warned on Friday that over 100,000 youngsters could experience severe acute malnutrition with medical problems by the end of the year.
The U.N. health agency estimated that it needs $145 million to help those affected by the fighting in Sudan and those who have fled to neighbouring nations with their growing medical needs.
According to Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, “the scope of this health crisis is unprecedented.” He continued by saying that money is urgently required to stop Sudan’s healthcare system from collapsing.
The nation’s infrastructure has been destroyed by the battle. Along with a sharp decline in medical supplies that were either looted or destroyed, it also rendered roughly 60% of health institutions nationwide inoperable, according to the WHO.
Between April 15 and June 8, the UN agency reported that it had verified at least 46 attacks on medical facilities.
Following two months of warfare that plunged the African country into anarchy, the warring parties in Sudan started a cease-fire early on Sunday morning.
After intense confrontations were recorded the day before, residents of the capital Khartoum and its neighbouring city Omdurman reported “relative calm” in the early hours of the cease-fire on Sunday morning.
The three-day standstill occurred before a pledge conference that the U.N. and other countries are planning to hold on Monday to gather money to meet Sudan’s humanitarian needs.
In 2023, the U.N. estimates that it will only have received less than 16% of the $2.57 billion needed to assist those in need in Sudan. According to the report, an additional $470 million is required to sustain refugees in the Horn of Africa.
