On Wednesday, May 24, Lieutenant General Yasser Atta, a member of Sudan’s Sovereign Council, accused the Rapid Support Forces of looting a currency printing factory in Khartoum. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced they had called on both parties to the conflict in Sudan to abide by the ceasefire.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Atta said the rebels (Rapid Support Forces) violated the ceasefire by attacking the headquarters of the currency printing factory in Khartoum, looting the state’s national currency stockpile and the gold reserves of the Bank of Sudan.
“The rebels are plundering Sudan in the name of democracy,” he added, stressing that the army command instructed its personnel to abide by the ceasefire and not to clash with the rebels after the attack on the currency printing factory.
On the other hand, an Al Jazeera reporter reported that calm continued on the front line between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, the second day after the ceasefire signed in Jeddah on Saturday 20th took effect.
The Al Jazeera reporter also pointed out that the aircraft was heard flying over the capital Khartoum early that morning.
On the other hand, Musa Khaddam, adviser to the Rapid Support Forces commander, said that his troops are still adhering to the ceasefire agreement and there has been no violation of it.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, Qadam denied that the Rapid Support Forces had taken control of some hospitals.
Doctors around the world condemned in a press statement what they said were attacks by armed elements of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces on Ahmad Qasim Specialist Hospital, Al-Tijani Al-Mahi and Al-Balsam Specialist Hospital.
They criticized the so-called looting of the coffers of the above-mentioned treatment institutions and the beating of medical staff and patients.
international pressure
On politics, the Saudi foreign ministry said Riyadh and Washington had informed Sudan’s conflicting parties of the ceasefire violations and demanded compliance, following violations in Khartoum and Obaid in the first few days.
On Tuesday 23rd, there were intermittent clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, even though a ceasefire was in effect.
The Saudi foreign ministry added in a statement that Saudi Arabia and the United States reaffirmed the importance of the ceasefire agreement reached between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Jeddah on May 20.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the Sudan Ceasefire Coordination and Monitoring Committee was in Jeddah to discuss reports of violations and mechanisms for delivering humanitarian aid to Sudanese.
Miller added at the news conference that Washington has the tools to deal with ceasefire violations and will not hesitate to use them.
humanitarian situation
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said hundreds of civilians, including employees of the international organization, had been killed in six weeks of fighting in Sudan.
Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, Guterres added that the conflict has prompted 250,000 people to flee Sudan.
On the other hand, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Stephen Dujarric, warned that the conflict in Sudan will have regional repercussions if it does not cease, noting that the UN is working to expand its humanitarian operations in the country.
Sudan’s Supreme Council for Humanitarian Affairs said about 7,000 people in the country were in need of treatment for kidney failure.
People with chronic diseases face difficulties in accessing treatment amid a decline in health services and pressure on hospitals due to fighting.