Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabia has joined the mediation efforts of the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to end the conflict in Sudan. This was revealed by Sky News Arabia, quoting well-informed US sources.

The sources stated that the mediation efforts seek to bring together Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and Commander of the Rapid Support Forces Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo in the Saudi capital Riyadh in the coming weeks.

For his part, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that the United States is in close contact with Sudanese military leaders to extend the ceasefire, and to explore options for restoring the diplomatic and consular presence of Sudan as soon as possible.

“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on 24 April, to last for 72 hours,” Blinken said in a statement issued two hours before the ceasefire started.

In an interview with MSNBC, Blinken said: “We are still looking at options. We have military installations that are still in the immediate area if they are needed, but this is not the time to conduct some kind of massive operations.” He pointed out that dozens of Americans are participating in a convoy led by the United Nations heading to Port Sudan, and that the US military is helping to monitor it through unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

The agreement between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) came following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, Blinken said.

“The United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken said. “To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders, to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan,” he added.

The White House Spokesman John Kirby announced that the United States is preparing to send part of the American fleet to help its nationals who wish to leave Sudan.

Meanwhile, the Arab and Western countries continued evacuation of their nationals and diplomatic missions from the capital, Khartoum, after the security and humanitarian conditions have deteriorated and reached on the brink of an impending catastrophe.

In a related development, a US military plane evacuated 45 Japanese citizens and their family members from Sudan.