THE SQUIZ
It’s now 10 days into the conflict in Sudan, and international observers have brokered a 72-hour ceasefire. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the breakthrough after 2 days of intense negotiations between the US, the generals and other states. Note: there have been 2 previous ceasefire attempts that have failed to hold. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is keen for hostilities to cool off – he says that if the fighting continues to escalate in Sudan, it could spread to “engulf the whole region and beyond.”

ARE 72 HOURS ENOUGH?
Aid agencies hope the pause in hostilities will allow civilians to get out of the conflict zones around Khartoum (Sudan’s capital city) and for supplies to reach those in need. The ceasefire will also allow for further evacuations of foreigners after a weekend in which the US, France, Belgium, the UK, Canada, India, Russia, and many others started to airlift their people from the country. Australia doesn’t have an embassy in Sudan, but there are at least 158 Aussie citizens there, according to our Department of Foreign Affairs. They’ve been told to consider the risks of trying to leave and to stay indoors while our government works with partner nations to secure their evacuation. In the last couple of weeks, the death toll in Sudan has climbed to at least 427 people, with thousands more injured or trapped in their homes. Food, water, medicine and internet access across the country has become severely limited.

WILL THIS ONE HOLD?
The US certainly hopes this ceasefire will hold and even lead to a longer pause in the fighting that’s broken out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). To explain what kicked this off: the 2 military groups helped a popular civilian uprising to oust the former dictator back in 2019 before seizing power for themselves in 2021. Recently, the leaders have fallen out, and now they have taken up arms against each other. US Secretary Blinken says the US will use the ceasefire period to help set up a committee of Sudanese civilian leaders to negotiate “a permanent cessation of hostilities” with the generals and regional/international partners. Ultimately, he says the US wants “a return to civilian government in Sudan.”