KHARTOUM: Sudan’s military has ruled out any negotiations with the rival paramilitary forces to end the crisis roiling the country and says it will only accept their surrender. A statement from the military on Thursday said that engaging in talks with the paramilitary Rapid Support Force would only be possible to discuss their surrender. “There would be no armed forces outside the military military system,” it said. The statement came as the latest attempt at a 24-hour cease-fire between Sudan’s warring forces grew increasingly strained. The two sides have been battling since Saturday for control of the strategic African country.
Meanwhile, fighters from Sudan’s rival factions battled around the main military installation in central Khartoum and other parts of the country’s capital on Thursday, threatening to unravel the latest attempt at a cease-fire asforeign governments looked for ways to extract their citizens trapped in the conflict. The 24-hour cease-fire, which came into effect on Wednesday, is the most significant attempt yet to halt violence between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. At least 330 people have been killed and 3,300 wounded in the fighting since it began Saturday, the WHO said, but the toll is likely higher.
Meanwhile, fighters from Sudan’s rival factions battled around the main military installation in central Khartoum and other parts of the country’s capital on Thursday, threatening to unravel the latest attempt at a cease-fire asforeign governments looked for ways to extract their citizens trapped in the conflict. The 24-hour cease-fire, which came into effect on Wednesday, is the most significant attempt yet to halt violence between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. At least 330 people have been killed and 3,300 wounded in the fighting since it began Saturday, the WHO said, but the toll is likely higher.