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Blinken Announces 3-Day Ceasefire in Sudan After 400+ Killed

Thousands have been wounded since fighting broke out April 15.

The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the two warring military factions who have been violently vying for control of Sudan, have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday. The ceasefire is “starting at midnight on April 24” and comes “following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours,” Blinken said. Previous ceasefire agreements between the groups have not held, but a pause in violence could provide the safety needed to evacuate the “dozens” of Americans Blinken said are still trying to flee. “To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders, to assist in the creation of a committee to oversee the negotiation, conclusion, and implementation of a permanent cessation of hostilities and humanitarian arrangements in Sudan,” Blinken said, urging the two rival armies to uphold the ceasefire. Since fighting broke out on April 15, more than 420 people have been killed and thousands wounded, according to figures from the UN.