Fighting continues in Sudan despite talk of holiday cease-fire

Sudan’s army on Friday morning declared a three-day truce to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, and the opposition paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces said it agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire. However, fighting continued around the capital of Khartoum, according to wire reports. More than 420 people have died and more than 3,700 have been injured since the factions began fighting on April 15, according to the World Health Organization.

How is the international community responding to the fighting? The International Committee of the Red Cross said it has been unable to deliver aid to civilians in Sudan because of the fighting. The United States, Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Spain have not been able to evacuate embassy staff since fighting has closed the airport in Khartoum. One American citizen has died in Sudan, and the United States has deployed troops to nearby Djibouti to prepare for an evacuation.

Dig deeper: Read A.S. Ibrahim’s column in WORLD Opinions about how the fighting could lead to civil war in Sudan.