عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Sudan Military Faction Chiefs Agree May 4-11 Truce in Principle

Plumes of smoke rise on the horizon in an area east of Khartoum as fighting continues between Sudan's army and the paramilitary forces, on April 28, 2023. (AFP)
Plumes of smoke rise on the horizon in an area east of Khartoum as fighting continues between Sudan's army and the paramilitary forces, on April 28, 2023. (AFP)
TT
20
TT

Sudan Military Faction Chiefs Agree May 4-11 Truce in Principle

Plumes of smoke rise on the horizon in an area east of Khartoum as fighting continues between Sudan's army and the paramilitary forces, on April 28, 2023. (AFP)
Plumes of smoke rise on the horizon in an area east of Khartoum as fighting continues between Sudan's army and the paramilitary forces, on April 28, 2023. (AFP)

Sudan's warring military factions agreed on Tuesday in principle to a seven-day ceasefire from Thursday, South Sudan announced, as more air strikes and shooting in the Khartoum region disrupted the latest short-term truce.

A statement released by the foreign ministry of South Sudan, which had offered to mediate in the conflict, said its President Salva Kiir stressed the importance of a longer truce and of naming envoys to peace talks, to which both sides had agreed.

The credibility of the reported May 4-11 deal ceasefire deal between Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support forces (RSF) leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was unclear, given the rampant violations that undermined previous agreements running from 24 to 72 hours.

Sudan's war has forced 100,000 people to flee over its borders and fighting now its third week is creating a humanitarian crisis, UN officials said earlier on Tuesday.

The conflict risks developing into a broader disaster as Sudan's impoverished neighbors deal with a refugee crunch and fighting hampers aid deliveries in a nation where two-thirds of the people already rely on some outside assistance.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Cairo would provide support for dialogue in Sudan between the rival factions, but was also "being careful about not interfering in their domestic matters".

"The entire region could be affected," he said in an interview with a Japanese newspaper on Tuesday as an envoy from Sudan's army chief, who leads one of the warring sides, met Egyptian officials in Cairo.

United Nations officials had said UN aid chief Martin Griffiths aimed to visit Sudan on Tuesday but the timing was still to be confirmed.

The UN World Food Program said on Monday it was resuming work in the safer parts of the country after a pause earlier in the conflict, in which some WFP staff were killed.

"The risk is that this is not just going to be a Sudan crisis, it's going to be a regional crisis," said Michael Dunford, the WFP's East Africa director.

The commanders of the army and RSF, who had shared power as part of an internationally backed transition towards free elections and civilian government, have shown no sign of backing down, yet neither seems able to secure a quick victory.

That has raised the specter of a prolonged conflict that could draw in outside powers.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

UN Expects Deteriorating Food Security in Yemen in Next Four Months

Over a quarter of IDPs in four government-controlled areas experienced moderate to severe hunger in April. Photo: UN
Over a quarter of IDPs in four government-controlled areas experienced moderate to severe hunger in April. Photo: UN
TT
20
TT

UN Expects Deteriorating Food Security in Yemen in Next Four Months

Over a quarter of IDPs in four government-controlled areas experienced moderate to severe hunger in April. Photo: UN
Over a quarter of IDPs in four government-controlled areas experienced moderate to severe hunger in April. Photo: UN

A UN report expected that the food security situation in Yemen will continue to worsen over the next four months, saying over a quarter of internally displaced people (IDPs) in four government-controlled areas experienced moderate to severe hunger in April.

“In April 2025, the Household Hunger Scale (HHS), which indicates extreme starvation, showed that slightly over a quarter (25.3%) of IDPs in selected four government-controlled areas (Aden, Lahj, Marib and Taizz) experienced moderate to severe hunger,” said the report issued this week by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

It showed that the prevalence of food security deteriorated slightly from their March levels and that the situation among IDPs is expected to worsen further in the months ahead through September as the lean season sets in from May.

“Around 47% of households in the four governorates had inadequate food consumption, with 34% consuming fewer than four food groups,” FAO said. “About 17.3% of IDP households experienced severe food deprivation, as measured by poor food consumption score,” it added.

In its report, the second assessment conducted in Yemen this year, the UN agency noted that IDPs residing in camp sites generally faced higher rates of severe food deprivation (30%-42%) compared to those living within host communities in Aden, Lahj, and Taizz.

Notably, it said, IDPs in Marib Camp had the lowest levels of severe food deprivation.

Also, FAO said households relying on natural resources for their main source of livelihoods (like bee production and collection/sale of forestry products), casual wage laborers, livestock keepers, pensioners, and those dependent on welfare or charity were among the most food-insecure groups.

About 72% of IDP households experienced various economic shocks - such as high food and fuel prices and limited income opportunities - that affected their ability to access food.

About 58% reported a decrease in their primary income over the past month, with 30% stating their income had more than halved, it said.

In the report conducted with the government’s Executive Unit for the Management of Displacement Camps in Yemen, FAO said that approximately 20% of households resorted to food-based coping strategies, mainly consuming less preferred diets due to food shortages or lack of income to purchase food.

About 66% of surveyed IDP households employed crisis coping strategies, while 10% resorted to emergency coping mechanisms, it added.

Concerning the Food Consumption Score (FCS), FAO said the prevalence of inadequate food consumption (borderline and poor) among IDPs remained relatively stable in the selected four governorates between March and April 2025, with a slight increase from 46.7% to 47.3%.

Meanwhile in camps, the rate worsened significantly, rising from 42.8% to 53.6%, indicating a notable decline in food access or quality.

Conversely, among IDPs in host communities, there was a slight improvement, with the rate decreasing from 47.5% to 46.1%.

This trend, it said, underscores the growing food security and welfare disparities between IDPs in camps and those living within host communities.

According to the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), the proportion of individuals facing immediate food insecurity requiring urgent intervention has slightly increased by 2% since March 2025 with 36% of IDPs in camps and 29% of those in host communities are affected during the reporting month, FAO said.