Sudan insists on Jeddah agreement enforcement before any ceasefire with RSF

Sudan’s Foreign Minister, Mohi El-Din Salem, said on Wednesday that all terms of the Jeddah agreement must be carried out before any ceasefire can be agreed with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

After fighting broke out between the army and the RSF in April 2023, the two sides reached a truce in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on 11 May that year. The agreement, sponsored by Riyadh and Washington, included commitments to protect civilians and for the RSF to withdraw from civilian sites. However, the RSF has not fully complied.

Speaking at a press conference in Port Sudan, north-east Sudan, Salem said: “Our position is clear, the implementation of the Jeddah agreement must come before any ceasefire agreements, to show seriousness.”

He also stressed that the RSF must withdraw from cities and lift all sieges.

Out of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls the five states in the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern areas of North Darfur held by the army. The army controls most of the remaining 13 states, including the capital, Khartoum.

For over a year, the RSF has maintained a strict siege on three cities—Babanousa, Dalanj, and Kadugli—in South and West Kordofan states in southern Sudan. Residents there face severe humanitarian hardship, with shortages of food and medicine.

READ: EU says Sudan has become ‘living nightmare,’ urges immediate ceasefire