Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to a seven-day ceasefire deal after talks in Saudi Arabia, mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia, the US State Department said on Saturday. The deal, which is due to start on Monday evening, is the first of its kind since the conflict erupted in mid-April over a power struggle between the two factions that toppled the civilian-led transitional government.

The deal includes a monitoring mechanism supported by the US, Saudi Arabia and other international partners, and allows for the delivery of humanitarian aid to millions of people affected by the war. The deal also paves the way for further talks to address the removal of forces from urban areas and the resumption of a democratic transition with civilian involvement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the deal and urged both sides to uphold it. “It is past time to silence the guns and allow unhindered humanitarian access. I implore both sides to uphold this agreement — the eyes of the world are watching,” he tweeted. Blinken had spoken earlier with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads one of the warring factions. The other faction is led by RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

The war has caused widespread death, displacement and destruction in Sudan, especially in the capital Khartoum, where heavy fighting, air strikes and looting have been reported. Thousands of foreign nationals have fled Sudan as Western countries evacuated their citizens, while thousands more Sudanese have sought refuge in neighbouring countries or safer regions within Sudan. The war has also threatened to destabilise the region and undermine Sudan’s fragile transition to democracy after former leader Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a 2019 popular uprising.

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