Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, battling the country’s military in a nearly yearlong ruinous conflict endorsed Saturday a resolution by the U.N. Security Council calling for a cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
RSF said in a statement that it hopes the resolution, adopted by the U.N. Security Council on Friday, would help deliver crucially needed humanitarian assistance to millions of Sudanese trapped in the fighting across the Northeastern African country.
The RSF said it views the initiative as a “crucial opportunity” for the warring parties to embark on negotiations to find a political settlement to the conflict.
“We view this as a crucial opportunity to initiate earnest discussions that could catalyze a political pathway. This pathway must culminate in a durable ceasefire, foster security and stability, and result in a substantive resolution that addresses the foundational issues of the historical crisis in Sudan,” it said.
Sudan’s military has already supported a call by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a Ramadan cease-fire.
In his Thursday appeal, Guterres warned Thursday that the conflict threatens Sudan’s unity and “could ignite regional instability of dramatic proportions.”
Sudan plunged into chaos in April last year, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo broke into street battles in the capital, Khartoum.
The fighting broke out during Ramadan last year.
Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Thousands of people have been killed.