{"id":5986,"date":"2023-04-20T15:18:25","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T15:18:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=5986"},"modified":"2023-04-20T15:18:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T15:18:25","slug":"sudan-army-calls-for-rivals-to-surrender-threatens-ceasefire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/analysis\/defense\/sudan-army-calls-for-rivals-to-surrender-threatens-ceasefire\/2023\/04\/20\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Sudan army calls for rivals to surrender, threatens ceasefire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The<\/span> fighting<\/span> was<\/span> devastating<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> country<\/span> with<\/span> about<\/span> a<\/span> third<\/span> of<\/span> its<\/span> population<\/span> (about<\/span> 16<\/span> million)<\/span> in<\/span> need<\/span> of<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> assistance,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> Nations.<\/span> The<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> Children’s<\/span> Fund,<\/span> UNICEF,<\/span> has<\/span> warned<\/span> that<\/span> intensive<\/span> care<\/span> for<\/span> her<\/span> 50,000<\/span> severely<\/span> acutely<\/span> malnourished<\/span> children<\/span> in<\/span> need<\/span> of<\/span> around-the-clock<\/span> care<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> interrupted.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Power<\/span> outages<\/span> across<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> have<\/span> destroyed<\/span> cold-chain<\/span> stores<\/span> of<\/span> life-saving<\/span> vaccines,<\/span> as<\/span> well<\/span> as<\/span> national<\/span> inventories<\/span> of<\/span> insulin<\/span> and<\/span> some<\/span> antibiotics,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> Save<\/span> the<\/span> Children.<\/span> Millions<\/span> of<\/span> children<\/span> are<\/span> now<\/span> at<\/span> risk<\/span> of<\/span> disease<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> health<\/span> complications.<\/span> Twelve<\/span> percent<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> 22<\/span> million<\/span> children<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> country<\/span> suffer<\/span> from<\/span> malnutrition<\/span> and<\/span> are<\/span> susceptible<\/span> to<\/span> other<\/span> diseases.<\/span> Foreign<\/span> governments<\/span> are<\/span> preparing<\/span> to<\/span> evacuate<\/span> their<\/span> own<\/span> citizens<\/span> from<\/span> Sudan.<\/span> However,<\/span> it<\/span> remained<\/span> unclear<\/span> how<\/span> to<\/span> do<\/span> so,<\/span> as<\/span> airports<\/span> in<\/span> Khartoum<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> cities<\/span> became<\/span> battlefields.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Japan’s<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Hamada<\/span>ordered<\/span> a<\/span> military<\/span> plane<\/span> dispatched<\/span> to<\/span> Djibouti,<\/span> the<\/span> Horn<\/span> of<\/span> Africa,<\/span> to<\/span> stand<\/span> by<\/span> about<\/span> 60<\/span> Japanese<\/span> to<\/span> evacuate.<\/span> Late<\/span> Wednesday,<\/span> the<\/span> Netherlands<\/span> also<\/span> sent<\/span> military<\/span> transport<\/span> planes<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Jordanian<\/span> port<\/span> city<\/span> of<\/span> Aqaba<\/span> to<\/span> prepare,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> Dutch<\/span> Defense<\/span> Ministry<\/span> acknowledged<\/span> that<\/span> “evacuation<\/span> is<\/span> not<\/span> possible<\/span> at<\/span> this<\/span> time.”<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Egyptian<\/span> and<\/span> Sudanese<\/span> forces<\/span> said<\/span> Egypt<\/span> had<\/span> managed<\/span> to<\/span> repatriate<\/span> dozens<\/span> of<\/span> military<\/span> personnel<\/span> arrested<\/span> by<\/span> the<\/span> RSF<\/span> when<\/span> it<\/span> attacked<\/span> Merowe<\/span> airport<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> north<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> capital<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> start<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> fighting,<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> Egypt<\/span> said<\/span> its<\/span> personnel<\/span> were<\/span> there<\/span> for<\/span> training<\/span> and<\/span> joint<\/span> exercises.<\/span> The<\/span> conflict<\/span> has<\/span> again<\/span> derailed<\/span> attempts<\/span> to<\/span> establish<\/span> democratic<\/span> rule<\/span> in<\/span> Sudan.<\/span> That’s<\/span> because<\/span> a<\/span> popular<\/span> uprising<\/span> helped<\/span> overthrow<\/span> longtime<\/span> dictator<\/span> Omar<\/span> al-Bashir<\/span> four<\/span> years<\/span> ago.<\/span> Burhan<\/span> and<\/span> Dagalo<\/span> jointly<\/span> he<\/span> will<\/span> carry<\/span> out<\/span> a<\/span> coup<\/span> in<\/span> 2021<\/span> to<\/span> expel<\/span> civilians<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> interim<\/span> government.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>The<\/span> outburst<\/span> of<\/span> violence<\/span> comes<\/span> after<\/span> weeks<\/span> of<\/span> heightened<\/span> tension<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> generals<\/span> over<\/span> a<\/span> new<\/span> international<\/span> attempt<\/span> to<\/span> force<\/span> a<\/span> return<\/span> to<\/span> civilian<\/span> rule.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Both<\/span> sides<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> long<\/span> history<\/span> of<\/span> human<\/span> rights<\/span> violations.<\/span> The<\/span> RSF<\/span> is<\/span> an<\/span> offshoot<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Janjaweed<\/span> militias<\/span> accused<\/span> of<\/span> widespread<\/span> atrocities<\/span> when<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> used<\/span> them<\/span> to<\/span> quell<\/span> rebellion<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Darfur<\/span> region<\/span> of<\/span> western<\/span> Sudan<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> early<\/span> 2000s.<\/span> The<\/span> conflict<\/span> has<\/span> raised<\/span> fears<\/span> of<\/span> spillovers<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> strategically<\/span> located<\/span> country<\/span> to<\/span> its<\/span> African<\/span> neighbors.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>Fighting<\/span> in<\/span> Sudan<\/span> has<\/span> forced<\/span> up<\/span> to<\/span> 20,000<\/span> Sudanese<\/span> to<\/span> flee<\/span> eastern<\/span> Chad,<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> said<\/span> Thursday.<\/span> Chad’s<\/span> Defense<\/span> Minister<\/span> Daud<\/span> Yaya<\/span> Brahim<\/span> said<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> 320<\/span> Sudanese<\/span> soldiers<\/span> had<\/span> fled<\/span> to<\/span> disarmed<\/span> Chad.<\/span> Troops<\/span> appeared<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> fleeing<\/span> Darfur,<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> RSF<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> main<\/span> force.<\/span>
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\n<\/span>The fighting has been disastrous for a country where the United Nations says around a third of the population \u2014 some 16 million people \u2014 are in need of humanitarian aid. The U.N. children\u2019s agency UNICEF warned that critical care has been disrupted for 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children, who need round-the-clock treatment.<\/p>\n

Save the Children said power outages across the country have destroyed cold chain storage facilities for lifesaving vaccines, as well as the national stock of insulin and several antibiotics. Millions of children, the aid group said, are now at risk of disease and further health complications. It said 12% of the country\u2019s 22 million children are suffering from malnutrition and are vulnerable to other diseases.<\/p>\n

Foreign governments geared up to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. But with airports in Khartoum and other cities turned into battlegrounds, it remained uncertain how they would do so.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Thursday ordered military aircraft sent to the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti to stand by for an evacuation of around 60 Japanese nationals, though it was not clear when one would take place. The Netherlands sent military transport craft to the Jordanian port city of Aqaba late Wednesday to be ready as well, though the Dutch Defense Ministry acknowledged that \u201cevacuations are not possible at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Egyptian and Sudanese militaries said that Egypt succeeded in repatriating dozens of its military personnel who had been detained by the RSF when it attacked Merowe airport, north of the capital, early in the fighting. Egypt said its personnel were there for training and joint exercises.The conflict has once again derailed Sudan\u2019s attempt to establish democratic rule since a popular uprising helped oust helped\u00a0depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir four years ago<\/a>. Burhan and Dagalo jointly carried out\u00a0a coup purging civilians from a transitional government in 2021<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The explosion of violence came after weeks of growing tensions between the two generals over new international attempts to press a return to civilian government.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both sides have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was\u00a0born out of the Janjaweed militias<\/a>, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan\u2019s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.<\/span><\/p>\n

The conflict has raised fears of a spillover from the strategically located nation to its African neighbors.<\/p>\n

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