Rapid Support Forces says accepts 24-hour truce, Sudanese army says not aware

KHARTOUM, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday announced that it accepted an international initiative for a truce to stop the clashes with the Sudanese army for 24 hours for humanitarian reasons, while the Sudanese army said it was not aware of the truce.

"A 24-hour truce has been accepted after communication with friendly countries and the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken," Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF commander, said on his Twitter account on Tuesday

The Sudanese army, meanwhile, said in a statement that it was "not aware of any coordination with the mediators and the international community about a truce, and the announcement by the rebellion of a 24-hour truce tends to cover up the crushing defeat it is about to receive within hours."

The violent clashes renewed on Tuesday morning around the vicinity of the Sudanese army command and the presidential palace, Khartoum International Airport, and around some RSF bases south of the capital Khartoum, according to eyewitnesses.

Sudan has been witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas outside the capital since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict.

The tension between the two military forces has escalated since Wednesday in the Merowe region in northern Sudan, after the RSF moved military vehicles to a location near the military air base there, a move that the army considered illegal.

Deep differences have emerged between the Sudanese army and the RSF, particularly regarding the latter's integration into the army as stipulated in a framework agreement signed between military and civilian leaders on Dec. 5, 2022. ■