Sudanese paramilitary group agrees to 72-hour ceasefire – as US confirms one of its citizens has died
The paramilitary group fighting the army in Sudan has agreed to a “complete ceasefire” for 72 hours – as the US confirmed one of its citizens has died in the six-day conflict.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it agreed to the truce on humanitarian grounds as Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Fitr – which marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.
The paramilitary group said the pause in fighting, which has left more than 330 people dead and at least 3,300 wounded, will allow for the opening of humanitarian corridors to “evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to greet their families”.
The ceasefire began at 6am local time (5am UK time) but the Sudanese military is yet to comment
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had earlier appealed for both sides to commit to a three-day ceasefire to coincide with Eid al-Fitr.
US preparing to evacuate citizens
Meanwhile, a US State Department spokesperson has confirmed an American citizen has died in the country.
The department said in a statement: “We can confirm the death of one US citizen in Sudan. We are in touch with the family and offer our deepest condolences to them on their loss.
“Out of respect for the family during this difficult time, we have nothing further to add.”
The US and other countries have been making preparations to evacuate their citizens in Sudan – a difficult prospect since most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital Khartoum to safer areas is dangerous.
The US military has been moving assets to a base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti for a possible evacuation of American Embassy personnel, administration officials said.
Japan plans to send military planes to Djibouti, and the Netherlands has dispatched its own to Jordan.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will cut his Pacific tour short and return from New Zealand on Friday to focus on Britain’s response to the Sudan crisis.
Meanwhile, Sudan’s army ruled out negotiations with the RSF on Thursday saying it would only accept its surrender.
This was a change of stance from days earlier when Abdel Fattah al Burhan, the head of Sudan’s army, told Sky News he was open to negotiations.
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Smoke rises above Sudan capital
Why has violence broken out?
The clashes began on Saturday 15 April when tensions over the transition from military to civilian rule in the country erupted into violence.
The RSF has said it had to act in “self-defence” to repel what it described as a coup attempt in the country.
The paramilitary group and the Sudanese army had been allies after coming together to oust former leader Omar al Bashir in 2019.
However, there have since been long-running disagreements between the two sides over how the country should be run.
Since the clashes broke out both sides have claimed to be in control of strategic locations, including the presidential palace, airports and air bases.
The fiercest battles between the army and the RSF have been in and around Khartoum – one of Africa’s largest urban areas – and in Darfur, still scarred by a long conflict that ended three years ago.
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Missiles and violence in Sudan
Truce follows failed ceasefire
The 72-hour truce comes after a tenuous 24-hour ceasefire that began on Wednesday was broken by fighting throughout the day.
The demise of the truce, which was the second attempt this week, underscored the failure of the United States, UN, European Union and regional powers to push Sudan’s top generals to halt their campaigns to seize control of the country.
Instead, army chief General Burhan and RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have appeared determined to win outright military victory over the other.
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Gunfire could be heard constantly across the Khartoum throughout the day on Thursday.
Residents reported the heaviest fighting around the main military headquarters in the centre of the city.
Military warplanes struck RSF positions at the airport and in the neighbouring city of Omdurman, residents said.
The military said its warplanes also struck a convoy of RSF vehicles heading to the capital, though the claim could not be independently confirmed.
Khartoum residents have been desperate for a respite after days of being trapped in their homes, with food and water running out.
Meanwhile, alarm has grown that the country’s medical system was on the verge of collapse, with many hospitals forced to shut down and others running out of supplies.
A Gaza deal is “on the brink”, President Joe Biden has said in his final foreign policy address.
The outgoing US leader said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve
peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Pic: Reuters
The US president also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” he said.
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Mr Biden was delivering his final foreign policy address before he leaves office next week.
Monday’s address will be the penultimate time he speaks to the country before the end of his presidency. He is due to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip – but a deal has not been reached yet, officials said.
A round of ceasefire talks will be held in Doha on Tuesday to finalise remaining details related to a ceasefire deal in Gaza – including over the release of up to 33 hostages – officials added.
Mr Biden went on to claim America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
World
IDF admits ‘serious offence’ after using vehicle marked ambulance in raid in which a grandmother was killed
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to a “serious offence” after a Sky News investigation analysed CCTV footage showing the moment an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother was shot in the West Bank.
Halima Abu Leil was shot during a raid in Nablus. The grandmother died soon after.
During the course of the investigation, we noted that a blue vehicle marked as an ambulance and with a red light on its roof was used by IDF troops to enter the West Bank.
Our investigation stated: “Figures who appear to be Israeli military forces exit the ambulance in the foreground. They are equipped with helmets, backpacks, rifles, and other gear.”
The use of a marked medical vehicle for a security operation could be a contravention of the Geneva Convention and a war crime – as well as Halima’s killing.
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CCTV shows Palestinian grandmother shot in IDF raid
The IDF has subsequently told Sky News: “On December 19, 2024, soldiers from the ‘Duvdevan’ unit took part in an operational mission to detain terrorists in Nablus.
“During the operation, an ambulance-like vehicle was used for operational purposes, without authorisation and without the relevant commanders’ approval.”
It added: “The use of the ambulance-like vehicle during the operation was a serious offence, exceeding authority, and a violation of existing orders and procedures.”
It also said the commander of the ‘Duvdevan’ unit was “reprimanded”.
However, it gave no update into the death of Halima, saying “the circumstances of the incident are being examined”.
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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese watched the CCTV video and told Sky News her death could be a “war crime”.
She said: “When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken – within these operations whose legality is debatable – to avoid or spare civilian life.
“No principle of proportionality because there was wildfire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction.
“So this was a murder in cold blood and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing.”
According to the United Nations Office Of Human Rights in occupied Palestinian territory, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed at least 813 mostly unarmed Palestinians, including 15 women and 177 children, since 7 October 2023.
Ukraine’s president is offering a prisoner swap with North Korean soldiers it has captured, in exchange for Ukrainians held by Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a direct appeal to leader Kim Jong Un after seizing two North Koreans in Russia’s Kursk region.
“In addition to the first captured soldiers from North Korea, there will undoubtedly be more. It’s only a matter of time before our troops manage to capture others,” he said in a video posted on X.
His video also included an offer of help to officials in California fighting the ongoing fires there.
It is the first time Ukraine has announced the capture of North Korean soldiers since their entry into the nearly three-year-old war last autumn.
Ukrainian and Western assessments say that some 11,000 troops from Russia‘s ally North Korea have been deployed in the Kursk region to support Moscow’s forces, although Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un met in Pyongyang to sign a ‘military pact’ in June 2024. Pic: Kremlin Photo/AP
Mr Zelenskyy has said Russian and North Korean forces had suffered heavy losses.
“Ukraine is ready to hand over Kim Jong Un’s soldiers to him if he can organise their exchange for our warriors who are being held captive in Russia,” Mr Zelenskyy added.
He posted a short video showing the interrogation of two men, presented as North Korean soldiers.
One of them is lying on a bed with bandaged hands, the other is sitting with a bandage on his jaw.
Ukraine said on Saturday it had captured two North Korean soldiers. Pic: Volodymyr Zelenskyy/X
One of the men said through an interpreter that he did not know he was fighting against Ukraine and had been told he was on a training exercise. He said he hid in a shelter during the offensive and was found a couple of days later.
He said that if he was ordered to return to North Korea, he would, but he was ready to stay in Ukraine if given the chance.
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Sky News has not been able to verify the video.
“One of them (soldiers) expressed a desire to stay in Ukraine, the other to return to Korea,” said Mr Zelenskyy, adding that for North Korean soldiers who did not wish to return home, there may be other options available.
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