Sudan army and RSF reach agreement on humanitarian corridors
Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan
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Emissaries for the warring parties in Sudan signed an agreement in Saudi Arabia yesterday to clear corridors for civilians who are trapped in a conflict zone to leave safety. The agreement also allows for humanitarian aid to enter.
The declaration in principle is not a binding document, but it brings hope that the humanitarian crisis that has escalated to a breaking point can be alleviated. There is no mention of a truce or a ceasefire in the agreement.
After nearly a month of fighting more than 750 have been killed, 5000 have been wounded and almost a million people have been displaced.
Six days of negotiations
Six days of negotiations has resulted in the “Jeddah Declaration for the Protection of Civilians in Sudan”. The four-page document comes after envoys from the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed “Hemedti” Dagalo were put under pressure to take into consideration civilian deaths and collateral damage.
Both sides have accused each other of being responsible for civilian deaths. The army accuses the RSF of using civilians as “human shields” by establishing bases in densely populated areas of the capital city Khartoum. The RSF on the other hand has criticised the military regime for indiscriminate air raids on a city of more than 5 million people.
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The agreement would “create safe passages for civilians to leave the fighting zones in the direction of their choice.” They also pledged to “quickly allow and facilitate the passage of humanitarian aid” as well as “the passage of humanitarians into and within the country”. It is estimated that at least 18 workers have been killed, although all figures of casualties are had to assess in the fog of war.
For almost a month millions of Sudanese citizens have been barricaded in their homes, often with no access to running water or electricity.
Food and money are running out everywhere, and the United Nations is warning of soaring hunger, a scourge that has long plagued Sudan.
