ISLAMABAD
\nA US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan\u2019s warring generals officially came into effect Tuesday after 10 days of urban combat killed hundreds, wounded thousands and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners.
\nThe Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to the ceasefire \u201cfollowing intense negotiations\u201d, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement shortly before the truce took effect at midnight (2200 GMT Monday).
\nPrevious bids to pause the conflict failed to take hold, but both sides confirmed they had agreed to the three-day halt.
\n\u201cThis ceasefire aims to establish humanitarian corridors, allowing citizens and residents to access essential resources, healthcare, and safe zones, while also evacuating diplomatic missions,\u201d the RSF paramilitary tweeted.
\nIn a statement on Facebook, the SAF said it would also abide by the ceasefire on condition its rivals did so.
\nMore than 4,000 people have fled the country in foreign-organised evacuations that began on Saturday.
\nMore than 4,000 people have fled the country in foreign-organised evacuations that began on Saturday.
\nThe United States and European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian nations launched emergency missions to bring to safety their embassy staff and Sudan-based citizens by road, air and sea.
\nBut millions of Sudanese are unable to flee what is one of the world\u2019s poorest countries, with a history of military coups.
\nThey are trying to survive acute shortages of water, food, medicine and fuel as well as power and internet blackouts.
\nUN agencies reported some Sudanese civilians were able to escape \u201cto Chad, Egypt and South Sudan\u201d.
\n\u201cWe must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss,\u201d Guterres said.
\nHe had also, again, called for a ceasefire.
\nBritain requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sudan, which was expected to take place Tuesday, according to a diplomat.
\nA UN convoy carrying 700 people completed an arduous 850-kilometre (530-mile) road trip to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast from the capital, where they left behind gunfire and explosions.
\nThe United Nations head of mission Volker Perthes said the convoy arrived safely. A UN statement separately said he and other key staff will \u201cremain in Sudan and will continue to work towards a resolution to the current crisis\u201d.
\nWith Khartoum airport disabled after battles that left charred aircraft on the tarmac, many foreigners were airlifted from smaller airstrips to countries including Djibouti and Jordan.
\nUS special forces swooped in with Chinook helicopters Sunday to rescue diplomats and their dependents, while Britain launched a similar rescue mission.
\nEU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said more than 1,000 EU citizens had been taken out during a \u201clong and intense weekend\u201d involving airlift missions by France, Germany and others.
\nChina said it had \u201csafely evacuated\u201d a first group of citizens and would \u201ctry every means to protect the lives, properties and safety of 1,500 plus Chinese compatriots in Sudan\u201d. Japan said it had evacuated 45 of its nationals and their spouses and temporarily closed its embassy in Khartoum.
\nThe capital, a city of five million, has endured \u201cmore than a week of unspeakable destruction\u201d, Norway\u2019s ambassador Endre Stiansen wrote on Twitter after his evacuation.
\nNearly 200 people from more than 20 countries arrived in the Saudi port of Jeddah Monday night after crossing the Red Sea in a naval frigate.
\n\u201cWe travelled a long way from Khartoum to Port Sudan. It took us around 10 or 11 hours,\u201d Lebanese national Suhaib Aicha told AFP as his young daughter cried on his shoulders.
\n\u201cIt took us another 20 hours on this ship from Port Sudan to Jeddah.\u201d Those Sudanese who can afford to are also fleeing Khartoum on crowded buses for the more than 900-kilometre desert drive north to Egypt.
\nAmong the 800,000 South Sudanese refugees who previously fled civil war in their own country, some are choosing to return, with women and children crossing the border, said the UN refugee agency.
\nIn the capital, street battles have left the sky often blackened by smoke from shelled buildings and torched shops.
\n\u201cThere was a rocket strike in our neighbourhood\u2026 it is like nowhere is safe,\u201d said resident Tagreed Abdin, an architect.
\nExperts have long drawn links between the RSF and Russian mercenary group Wagner. Blinken earlier on Monday voiced \u201cdeep concern\u201d that Wagner risked aggravating the war in Sudan.
\nThe military toppled Bashir in April 2019 following mass citizen protests that raised hopes for a transition to democracy.
\nThe two generals seized power in the 2021 coup, but later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD A US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan\u2019s warring generals officially came into effect Tuesday after 10 days of urban combat killed hundreds, wounded thousands and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to the ceasefire \u201cfollowing intense negotiations\u201d, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327507,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-327496","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n