Warring parties in Sudan agree to temporary ceasefire, Blinken says

Halt in more than a week of fighting between Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces

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  A member of the Saudi Navy carries a child from a ship at Jeddah's port during the kingdom's evacuation of civilians from Sudan. Reuters

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  Indian nationals evacuated from Sudan arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. EPA

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  Sudanese refugees queue to receive aid from the World Food Programme near the border between Sudan and Chad in Adre, Chad. Reuters

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  Tunisian citizens evacuated from Sudan leave a military aircraft upon their arrival at Tunis-Carthage International Airport. AFP

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  Indians evacuated from Sudan arrive on a flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India. AP Photo

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  Moroccan nationals, who have been evacuated from Sudan, arrive at Mohammed V airport in Casablanca, Morocco. EPA

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  A boat with 1,687 civilians from more than 50 countries fleeing violence in Sudan, arrives at King Faisal naval base in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. AFP

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  RSF fighters in the East Nile district of greater Khartoum. AFP

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  Passengers disembark a plane from Djibouti at Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport near Paris after being evacuated from Sudan. AFP

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  Buildings destroyed in recent fighting in Khartoum, Sudan. AP

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  Passengers fleeing the fighting in Sudan arrive at Wadi Karkar bus station in Aswan, Egypt. EPA

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  Ali Mazloum, a Lebanese citizen who was evacuated from Sudan, is welcomed upon his arrival at Beirut airport. Reuters

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  A woman helps another after fleeing clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum. Reuters

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  Soldiers attend to Greek citizens evacuated from Sudan as they disembark from a military aircraft in Attica, Greece. EPA

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  People carry hibiscus juice and cold water for those being evacuated from Khartoum to Port Sudan. Reuters

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  Thais wait to be evacuated by boat at a port in Sudan. EPA

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  Greek citizens arrive from Sudan on a military plane in Elefsina, south of Athens. AFP

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  Japan's senior Vice Foreign Minister Shunsuke Takei welcomes his country's citizens in Djibouti after they were rescued from Sudan. AFP

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  A member of the Saudi Royal Navy carries a child who was rescued from Sudan, in Jeddah. Reuters

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  A military plane carrying evacuees arrives at Ciampino Airport near Rome, Italy. Reuters

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  Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani greets the country's ambassador to Sudan, Michele Tommasi, as he arrives at Ciampino Airport. Reuters

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  South Korea's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Park Joon-yong, at a Saudi Air Force base in Jeddah, where he met diplomats from his country evacuated from Sudan by the kingdom's air force. Reuters

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  Having fled from Sudan, a South Korean nun disembarks from a military plane after landing at King Abdullah Air Base in Jeddah. AFP

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  People gather as they seek to escape the violence in Khartoum. Reuters

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  Spanish diplomatic personnel and citizens wait to disembark from a military plane after being evacuated from Sudan, in Djibouti. Reuters

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  A closed pharmacy and shops in the south of Khartoum as battles rage in the capital between the army and paramilitaries. AFP

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  Passengers from Sudan disembark from a Spanish Air Force plane at Torrejon Airbase in Madrid. AP

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  People evacuated from Sudan arrive at a military airport in Amman. AFP

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  Jordan was among those countries to have rapidly flown its citizens in Sudan to safety. AFP

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  This child was one of those to have arrived safely in Amman. AFP

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  A building in Khartoum burns as violence rages in Sudan. EPA

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  Italian citizens are flown out of the Sudanese capital on a military aircraft. Reuters

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  The fighting has caused heavy damage to parts of Khartoum. EPA

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  Indonesian citizens travel on a bus during an evacuation operation in Khartoum. EPA

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  A Spanish military aircraft takes off from Khartoum as European countries rescue citizens from Sudan. Reuters

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  Jordanians arrive at a military airport in Amman after their evacuation from Sudan to escape the fighting. AP

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  French troops arrive at an air base in Djibouti to prepare to evacuate about 100 people from Sudan. AFP

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  Smoke rises from buildings during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army in Khartoum. Reuters

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  Saudis are met by Saudi Royal Navy staff as they arrive at Jeddah on the Red Sea after being evacuated from Sudan. Reuters

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  The streets of southern Khartoum bear the scars of fighting between two factions of the Sudanese military. AFP

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  A convoy leaves Khartoum for Port Sudan as fighting between military factions in the Sudanese capital continues. AFP

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  A civilian convoy leaving Khartoum for Port Sudan. AFP

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  Saudi citizens and people of other nations are evacuated by the Saudi Royal Navy from Port Sudan to escape the conflict. Reuters

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  A photo from October 2017 of the US embassy in Khartoum. AFP

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  Saudi citizens are met by Saudi Royal Navy staff as they arrive at Jeddah after being evacuated from Sudan. Reuters

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  Smoke hangs over Khartoum as factions belonging to the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces go back to trading gunfire after a ceasefire failed. AP

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday announced a temporary ceasefire between the warring sides in Sudan.

“Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours,” Mr Blinken said.

The ceasefire comes after more than a week of fighting between the army and RSF in which more than 400 people were killed and the capital Khartoum paralysed by violence.

“This ceasefire aims to establish humanitarian corridors, allowing citizens and residents to access essential resources, health care, and safe zones, while also evacuating diplomatic missions,” the RSF paramilitary tweeted.

The army said on Facebook it would abide by the ceasefire on condition its rivals did so.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned earlier that Sudan was on “the edge of the abyss” and that the violence “could engulf the whole region and beyond”.

Fierce fighting broke out in the streets of Khartoum on April 15 between forces loyal to army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the paramilitary RSF led by his former deputy Gen Mohamed Dagalo.

The major point of contention between two sides is the proposed integration of the paramilitary group into the regular army.

Mr Blinken said the US would help “co-ordinate” between the army and RSF as well as with regional partners 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”.

At least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 wounded, according to UN agencies.

Assistant administrative attache at Egypt embassy killed

Among the latest to die was the assistant administrative attache at Cairo's embassy in Khartoum, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said.

He was killed as he travelled from his home to the embassy to follow up on evacuation procedures, it said.

More than 4,000 people have fled the country in foreign-organised evacuations that began on Saturday.

On Saturday, the US withdrew its diplomatic staff from Khartoum, leading to a mass departure of western officials that some analysts worry leaves Sudan even more vulnerable.

“I do think that there is concern that with diplomats leaving the country, that there will be fewer eyes and ears present,” Susan Stigant, director of Africa Programmes at the US Institute for Peace told The National.

Ms Stigant feared that with fewer diplomats in Sudan, there would be a “greater barrier to exercising leverage to end the fighting”.