Europe News Desk!! In a bid to end the ongoing violence in Sudan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to mediate between the warring parties in the North African country. Erdogan split on Thursday with the heads of the two warring parties — General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chief of Sudan’s armed forces (SAF) and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), Xinhua news agency reported. Talked on separate phone. Erdogan told the two warring leaders that Turkey has sincerely supported the transition process in Sudan from the beginning, a statement said. The President said that Ankara will stand by the nation of Sudan even during this period. He said that Turkey is ready to provide any kind of support, including hosting possible mediation initiatives.
He asked Burhan and Hamdan Dagalo to make every effort to protect Turkish citizens and institutions and properties in Sudan. Diplomatic pressure has intensified to end the violence that began on 15 April in the capital, Khartoum, and has since spread to other parts of Sudan. The United Nations, the US and other countries are pushing for a three-day ceasefire for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The RSF said it had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire on humanitarian grounds, the BBC reported. But SAF is yet to respond. The RSF said there would be a ceasefire from 6 am on Friday to mark the festival. The UN chief was quoted as saying by the BBC that the Eid ceasefire should be the first step in providing a respite from fighting and paving the way for a permanent ceasefire.
He said that this ceasefire is important in the present times. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also appealed to the warring military leaders to join the ceasefire at least until Sunday. The State Department said that Blinken expressed serious concerns about the risks posed by the fighting to American citizens and diplomatic personnel. In addition to Erdogan, General Burhan had received calls from South Sudanese and Ethiopian leaders as well as Blinken and the Saudi and Qatari foreign ministers, the Sudanese military said in a statement. According to the United Nations, between 10,000 and 20,000 people have died as a result of the unrest. , have fled Sudan in search of safety in neighboring Chad. Most of whom are women and children.
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FZ/SKP
World News Desk!!