The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday welcomed a call by the United Nations Security Council for a cessation of hostilities in the holy month of Ramadan.
Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting, is expected to start on Sunday evening.
In a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj, the RSF expressed hope that the UN Security Council resolution would “significantly lessen the suffering of the Sudanese people by ensuring the smooth delivery of humanitarian aid” and pave the way for a political process leading to a permanent ceasefire.
The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in April last year in the capital Khartoum. In the eleven months since, the fighting has spread, claiming thousands of lives, driven millions from their homes and plunged Sudan into a dire humanitarian crisis.
The United Nations says nearly 25 million people — half Sudan’s population — need aid, some 8 million have fled their homes and hunger is rising.
On Friday, the Security Council adopted a resolution for a cessation of hostilities in Ramadan with 14 votes in favor, while Russia abstained.
Sudan’s U.N. ambassador, Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, told the council on Thursday that the president of the country’s transitional council commended the appeal of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan truce. However, he said the leader is “wondering about how to do this.”
“In embracing the proposed humanitarian ceasefire, we express our readiness to partake in discussions concerning the establishment of mutually agreed upon monitoring mechanisms,” the RSF said in a Saturday statement.
“These mechanisms are crucial for ensuring the effective implementation of the ceasefire and for achieving the humanitarian objectives intended by this resolution,” it concluded.