Sudan’s Sovereign Council Chairman, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, approved a seven-day humanitarian ceasefire for the embattled city of Al-Fashir, capital of North Darfur state, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
The decision, announced on Friday, followed a direct appeal from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a phone call earlier that day. According to an official statement from the Sovereign Council, Guterres requested the week-long truce to allow humanitarian aid to reach Al-Fashir.
However, the statement did not specify the exact commencement time for the truce. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), engaged in fierce combat with the Sudanese Armed Forces in Al-Fashir since 10 May 2024, had not issued any immediate public response to the announcement.
Al-Fashir serves as a crucial hub for humanitarian operations across Darfur’s five states. The fighting there, persisting despite repeated international warnings, has exacerbated an already catastrophic humanitarian situation stemming from a wider conflict that erupted in mid-April 2023 between the army and the RSF.
Concurrently, the Sovereign Council welcomed the appointment of Kamel Idris as Prime Minister, characterising it as “a step toward completing the country’s civilian transition.”
Idris, a politician holding a PhD in international law from the University of Geneva and a former 2010 presidential candidate, was formally sworn in by al-Burhan on 31 May. His appointment followed a constitutional decree issued on 19 May.
The proposed Al-Fashir ceasefire offers a fragile hope for alleviating immense civilian suffering in a city described by aid agencies as facing potential famine conditions.
