(VOVWORLD) -Sudan’s paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has announced that it will observe a 72-hour ceasefire, which comes into effect at 6 am (local time) on Friday.
 Black smoke rising above the Khartoum International Airport, Sudan, on April 20, 2023. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
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In a statement, RSF said the armistice coincides with Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr to open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to unite with their families.
There was no word from Sudan’s army on whether it would observe a ceasefire.
Before the RSF made the announcement, heavy fighting continued between the RSF and the army reported in the capital Khartoum.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on Friday warned escalating violence between rival military forces in Sudan is putting millions of children at risk. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, two-thirds of Sudanese, around 15.8 million people, need humanitarian aid this year.
The agency said it is working with partners to mobilize resources in the region, replenish reserves, and ensure a timely and rapid response as soon as the conflict subsides and the security allows the delivery of relief services.
Fighting between the RSF and Sudanese army forces broke out last Saturday in the capital Khartoum and several other places, including the Darfur region, killing more than 400 people and injuring 3,500, according to the World Health Organization.