A ceasefire in Sudan that took effect at midnight on Monday appears to be holding, at least for now. It is the third suspension of fighting since violence broke out on 15 April, but the previous agreements did not hold. The latest 72-hour pause was agreed between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after 48 hours of negotiations, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The ceasefire has been announced independently by both sides in the conflict. Over 400 people have been killed in the violence so far. UN Secretary General António Guterres has warned that the violence in Sudan could lead to a "catastrophic conflagration" that could engulf the whole region.
Since the violence began, residents of the capital Khartoum have been told to stay inside and food and water supplies have been running low. The bombing has hit key infrastructure, including water pipes, forcing some people to drink from the River Nile. There are hopes that the ceasefire will allow civilians to leave the city and enable continued evacuations out of the country. Countries have been scrambling to evacuate their diplomats and civilians as fighting raged in central, densely populated parts of the capital. However, some convoys have encountered "robbery and looting". It is estimated that tens of thousands of people, including Sudanese citizens and those from neighbouring countries, have fled because of the unrest.
The violence broke out primarily in Khartoum between rival military factions battling for control of Africa's third largest country. This came after days of tension as members of the RSF were redeployed around the country, which the army saw as a threat. Since a 2021 coup, Sudan has been run by a council of generals led by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of the armed forces and in effect the country's president, and his deputy and leader of the RSF, Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti. They have disagreed on the direction the country is going in and the proposed move towards civilian rule. The main sticking points are plans to include the 100,000-strong RSF into the army and who would then lead the new force.