US warns on ceasefire breaches in Sudan

The United States on Thursday warned Sudan’s warring parties after violations of a ceasefire negotiated by Washington with Saudi Arabia. The State Department acknowledged that a monitoring group, set up after talks in Jeddah that led the declaration of a one-week truce, had detected the use of artillery, drones and military aircraft as well as fighting both in the capital Khartoum and in Darfur.

“We have continued to see violations of the ceasefire,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. “We retain our sanctions authority and if appropriate we will not hesitate to use that authority,” he said, repeating an earlier warning from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Miller stopped short of formally declaring violations of the truce, saying that the monitoring group — which includes representatives of the United States, Saudi Arabia and the feuding generals — was probing incidents that took place Wednesday.

Since April 15, Sudan’s capital and other parts of the country have been gripped by brutal urban warfare between the regular army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after a dispute on integrating them as part of a transition to civilian rule. The United States has threatened sanctions against the two sides but for now has prioritized dialogue in hopes of reaching a solution.