Warring parties in Sudan agree to three-day cease-fire

After what the United States described as “intense negotiation,” a three-day cease-fire between the warring factions in Sudan took effect on Tuesday.

Both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) openly vowed to respect the cease-fire.

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in order to support a lasting end to the fighting, “the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, as well as Sudanese civilian stakeholders, to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan.”

The World Health Organization issued a “huge biological risk” alert on Tuesday following the occupation of a lab containing dangerous materials like cholera and measles germs by one of the sides in the Sudanese conflict.

The WHO’s representative in Sudan, Nima Saeed Abid, would not identify the parties involved but told reporters that the situation was “extremely dangerous.”

The lack of access for lab professionals to enter the facility and securely store the accessible biological material and substances, he said, is the main cause for concern.

Since combat started on April 15, at least 427 people have died and more than 3,700 have been injured, according to U.N. organizations.

On Monday, Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, urged the Security Council to “exercise maximum influence with the parties to end the violence, restore order, and return to the path of the democratic transition.”

On Tuesday, the Security Council is scheduled to discuss Sudan.

Additionally, according to Guterres, the U.N. has temporarily relocated “hundreds” of staff personnel both inside and outside of Sudan but is not leaving the nation.

Countries have hurried to evacuate their nationals and ambassadors amid the conflict.

Several countries, including Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United States, use aircraft and convoys to remove foreign nationals from their countries.

The majority of U.S. federal employees who left Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, arrived in Washington on Monday afternoon.

According to the British Foreign Office, planes leaving from an airfield outside of Khartoum on Tuesday marked the start of an evacuation attempt.

The majority of Chinese citizens, according to the foreign ministry of China, have been safely evacuated.

In the midst of power outages and lost internet access, Sudanese citizens are left to fend for themselves.

Some Sudanese have chosen to flee in automobiles and buses on the perilous highways.

Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and The Associated Press all contributed information to this article. This report was contributed to by Margaret Besheer of VOA.