Amid fears of Sudan sliding towards a broad war, clashes continue between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in the capital, Khartoum, and other Sudanese cities, while internal and external voices are calling for an end to the fighting and resorting to dialogue, amid warnings of the current confrontations turning into war and the country entering an unknown fate.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described the situation in the Sudanese capital as "fragile," but insisted, however, that "there is still an opportunity to complete the transition to a civilian-led government." Blinken warned, during statements from the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, today (Saturday), that some players may be trying to obstruct the progress that has been made towards the civilian government in Sudan.
For his part, the US ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, said: The escalation of tensions within the military component to direct fighting is a very dangerous matter.
And he stated in a statement published by the US Embassy in Khartoum on its Facebook and Twitter pages: I just arrived late last night in Khartoum and woke up to the very disturbing sounds of gunfire and fighting.
He added, “I am currently taking shelter in a place with the embassy team, as the Sudanese do in all parts of Khartoum and elsewhere,” calling urgently for senior military leaders to stop the fighting.
The Russian TASS news agency quoted the Russian ambassador to Khartoum, Vladimir Geltofer, as saying: We are counting on the confrontations to end within a few hours, and for the two sides to move to negotiations.
The British Embassy in Sudan urged its nationals to remain closed, and said it was closely monitoring the situation.
Egypt called on the Sudanese parties to exercise maximum restraint in order to protect the lives and capabilities of the Sudanese people, and uphold the higher interests of the country. A statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said today: Cairo is following with great concern developments in the situation in Sudan.
While the Saudi embassy in Khartoum called on Saudi citizens residing in Sudan to stay in their homes and communicate with the embassy in case of necessity.
In turn, the civil forces that signed a preliminary agreement to share power with the army and the Rapid Support Forces called on both sides to stop the fighting, and said in a statement: We call on the leadership of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to immediately stop hostilities, and to spare the country the evil of sliding into the abyss of total collapse.
It appealed to the international and regional community to urgently help stop these bloody confrontations, and to refrain from any action that fuels the conflict and increases its ignition. The Sudanese Professionals Association called on "the forces of the revolution from the resistance committees to take the initiative to protect the neighborhoods by forming community peace committees."
The Sudanese Congress Party appealed to the military parties to calm down and cease fire, to open channels of dialogue and not to drag the country into an all-out war.
The Congress Party said: We ask our local partners and the international community to intervene quickly in order to silence the sound of guns and bullets.
Okaz (Khartoum) @okaz_online
