CNN —
Both Sudan’s warring factions have declared a 72-hour ceasefire for the Muslim holiday of Eid after nearly a week of bitter fighting that has left more than 400 dead and tens of thousands of refugees forced to flee the country.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced a ceasefire for the first time on Friday, but clashes continued north of the capital. Rival Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) later announced a three-day suspension of fighting.
Foreign officials and international organizations had called for a three-day lull in fighting that would allow people to find food, evacuate safely or gather with family for Eid, which marks the end of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan.
Fighting erupted last Saturday as SAF leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is Sudan’s military ruler, and RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo vied for control of the country
However, it remains unclear whether the agreement will stand after several previous ceasefires between the warring generals have repeatedly collapsed and both sides have shared blame for violating the terms.
The fighting has left 413 dead and 3,551 wounded, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and one US citizen was also killed amid the violence, the US State Department confirmed to CNN on Friday.
At a United Nations briefing in Geneva on Friday, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said at least nine children have been killed and at least 50 injured so far, adding that child casualties “will continue to rise as fighting continues.” .
Eyewitnesses spoken to by CNN said fierce fighting raged on Friday in Khartoum North, an area north of the capital.
The violence has also hampered the work of humanitarian and aid agencies.
The United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was forced to suspend its humanitarian operations in Sudan after a staffer died when the vehicle he was traveling in with his family was caught in crossfire between warring factions on Friday morning came the southern Sudanese town of El-Obeid.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has not been able to assist civilians in Sudan because of the lack of security guarantees due to recent fighting and violence, a press release said.
The RSF had announced a truce on Friday morning in a statement on Twitter, saying it should begin at 6 a.m. local time He prayed for a peaceful oath – but he made no mention of a truce.
“The ruin and destruction and the sound of gunfire have left no room for the joy our people deserve in our beloved country, and we are deeply saddened by it,” Burhan said in the statement — his first speech on camera since Clashes erupted on April 15.
Pleas for a ceasefire have become more urgent in recent days as the death toll mounts. Most hospitals in the capital Khartoum are out of order, many having been attacked by shells; Meanwhile, those still operating are quickly running out of supplies to treat the survivors.
Residents are stranded at home and in shelters without food or water, surrounded by the threat of gunfire and artillery outside.
The fighting could starve millions, the World Food Program (WFP) warned on Thursday.
“Even before the conflict broke out on April 15, record numbers of people were facing hunger in Sudan,” the statement said, adding that the fighting prevented the organization from delivering emergency food to civilians.
The death of a US citizen in Sudan was confirmed on Friday by a State Department spokesman. “We are in touch with the family and offer them our deepest condolences on their loss,” the rep told CNN. “Out of respect for the family at this difficult time, we have nothing more to add,” they added.
A ceasefire could provide a crucial window not only for aid distribution and medical supplies, but also for foreign governments to reach out to their citizens stranded in the country.
There are an estimated 16,000 American citizens in Sudan, most of whom have dual nationality, officials told staff on Wednesday. Around 500 had contacted the US embassy since fighting broke out, although staff said only about 50 of those people had asked for help.
But the security situation and the closure of the airport in Khartoum have prompted the US State Department to advise that American citizens in Sudan “should have no expectation of a US government-coordinated evacuation at this time,” the State Department deputy spokesman said , Vedant Patel held a press conference.
“It is imperative that US citizens in Sudan take their own precautions to remain safe in these difficult circumstances,” he added.
The US Department of Defense said Thursday it was deploying “additional capabilities” near Sudan to secure the US embassy in the country and assist with a possible evacuation if the situation calls for it. It includes hundreds of Marines already in nearby Djibouti, a US defense official told CNN, with planes capable of bringing ground units to secure an embassy.
US President Joe Biden has “authorized the military to move forward with prepositioning forces and to develop options if – and I want to emphasize this now – if an evacuation is required,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
Some countries have already started the evacuation process, with Japan announcing it would send its Self-Defense Forces to evacuate 60 Japanese nationals, including embassy staff, from Sudan.
South Korea’s defense ministry said on Friday it would dispatch a military transport plane to evacuate its nationals from Sudan, adding that the plane and troops will “monitor the situation from the US military base in Djibouti” as the Khartoum international airport remains closed. It added that all 26 South Koreans in Sudan have been confirmed safe and that their forces would do so “Prioritize evacuation.”
The Sudanese army said Thursday that 177 Egyptian soldiers trapped in the country have been evacuated and brought safely back to Egypt.
However, not all evacuations have started yet.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Friday that Spain had “prepared” military planes to evacuate 60 Spaniards and about 20 nationals of other countries from violence-torn Sudan, but conditions for the planes to land in the country were not safe at this time.
Albares did not say where the planes were previously based, but the well-known Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the site is in Djibouti, East Africa. The newspaper said each plane could evacuate about 100 people from Sudan.
The Spanish Defense Ministry’s press office declined to answer CNN’s questions about the number of planes sent and their location.
Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson acknowledged that his country has so far been unable to take part in an international evacuation mission of both Swedes and other foreign citizens in Sudan, his press office said in a statement on Friday.
On Wednesday, the government “made the necessary decisions to allow Sweden to assist in an international evacuation mission of both Swedes and other foreign citizens staying in Sudan. At the moment it is not possible to carry out this mission. We hope that this will be possible very soon,” said Kristersson.
Switzerland said on Friday it was considering evacuating Swiss nationals and some of its embassy staff. The Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs said around 100 Swiss nationals are believed to be registered in Sudan, while others are believed to be visiting the Red Sea area as tourists.
Local residents are also fleeing the country in large numbers. Eyewitnesses in Khartoum describe growing queues at bus stops hoping to escape the fighting. And up to 20,000 refugees from the Sudanese region of Darfur have fled to neighboring Chad in the past few days, according to the UN refugee agency.