Rapid Support Announces Unilateral Eid Al-Adha Truce
Commander of the Sudanese rapid support forces Mohammed Hamdan Daglo (Hemeti) announced on Monday evening a “unilateral truce” for two days starting from Tuesday on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, despite the fact that his forces have recently made great progress, especially in the capital Khartoum at the expense of the army, including the control of the police headquarters.
In an audio recording posted on his official Facebook page, Hemeti said, “In these blessed days of Dhu al-Hijjah, we declare a unilateral truce on Tuesday, which is Arafa’s first day of Eid al-Adha.”
He expressed his hope that the days of Eid would be “an opportunity for reconciliation between the components of the Sudanese people.”
“We feel the suffering of our honorable people because of this war and the difficult humanitarian conditions it has left in all aspects of life,” he said.
Major General Issam Salih Fadil, the commander of the rapid support forces, also announced the formation of a committee and a field court to resolve violations and investigate violations committed against members of the support force. He called for cooperation with the commission.
He renewed accusations that the army’s intelligence apparatus was trying to blame the Support Forces for certain crimes in order to distort public opinion, saying that factories belonging to the army were manufacturing support uniforms and giving them to criminal elements to commit excesses.
The Sudanese army is living in a very difficult situation on the ground, with the rapid support forces achieving progress on various fronts and many soldiers surrendering, but the army command is still insisting on a military resolution and using the air force to achieve that in residential areas.
On Monday, the army confirmed that the RSF had taken over the headquarters of the Central Reserve Forces of the Sudanese police in Khartoum, and that the fighting was first reported to have spread to Blue Nile State near Ethiopia.
Hemeti’s forces said they had seized dozens of armored vehicles and trucks after capturing the main Central Reserve Forces base on Sunday, consolidating their position in southern Khartoum where a number of important military headquarters are located.
The army relied on the Central Reserve Forces for ground fighting in Khartoum, and struggled to cope with the mobile rapid support units that quickly deployed throughout the city once fighting broke out on 15 April.
The Central Reserve Forces base was captured after three days of fighting, the army said in a statement.
“Residents said on social media Monday that the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), Sudan’s strongest rebel group, had launched an offensive in the town of Kurmuk in Blue Nile state, on the border with Ethiopia.”
The SPLM-North last week clashed with the army in South Kordofan state, raising fears that the conflict could spread across southern Sudan.
Since May 6, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been sponsoring talks between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, which resulted on May 11 in the first agreement between the two sides in Jeddah to commit to protecting civilians, and the announcement of more than one truce during which violations and mutual accusations between the two sides took place.
Both sides accuse the Sudanese of starting fighting first and then committing violations during a series of truces that have failed to end the clashes that have raged since April 15, leaving hundreds dead and thousands wounded among civilians, in addition to a new wave of displacement and refugees in one of the world’s poorest countries.
