Sudan military crisis: Rival forces declare 24-hour ceasefire

Khartoum [Sudan], April 20 : Rival forces battling in the streets of Sudan's capital declared a new 24-hour cease-fire Wednesday, a day after a similar truce attempt failed, Voice of America (VOA) reported.
The Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, announced separately that they would abide by a temporary halt in fighting beginning at 6 pm local time, or 1600 UTC.
There were reports of sporadic fighting after the cease-fire went into effect, VOA reported.
Heavy fighting was reported on Wednesday around the main military headquarters in Khartoum, with military jets launching airstrikes on RSF forces attempting to take control of the complex.
Streets in the capital were empty except for fighters and people attempting to flee the city, some leaving on foot, some crowding into vehicles. Most residents have sheltered indoors to avoid the fighting, enduring a cutoff in electricity and dwindling food supplies, VOA reported.
The fighting has killed nearly 300 people in the past five days, the UN health agency said, but the toll is likely higher since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of the clashes.
World leaders have pressured General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of Sudan's military, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces, to call a halt to the fighting. The rival forces agreed to a cease-fire Tuesday after speaking separately by phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appealed for a truce on humanitarian grounds. The cease-fire fell apart within minutes and fighting raged throughout the day on Wednesday.
Sudan's military said four Egyptian military transport planes evacuated 177 Egyptian soldiers who were being held by the RSF. The Egyptian troops had been in Sudan to conduct joint exercises with the Sudanese military, VOA reported.
The fighting between the army and RSF broke out Saturday after months of rising tension over the country's political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.
Calls to end the fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the African Union, the Arab League and East African regional bloc IGAD, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.
Sudan's two top generals, however, have yet to express a willingness to negotiate and each has demanded the other's surrender.
The clashes are part of a power struggle between General Burhan, who also heads Sudan's ruling military council, and General Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the council's deputy head. The two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir, VOA reported.
The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis.