The 72-hour truce, the third in a row, will end on Wednesday, which the two parties agreed to, although they have repeatedly violated, to allow the evacuations of foreigners and Sudanese fleeing fighting in Khartoum and in other areas of the country, such as in the troubled region of Darfur.
thousands of displaced
The conflict between the paramilitaries and the Sudanese army broke out on April 15 and since then has caused the death of 500 people —mainly in the capital, Khartoum and in Dafur, in the east of the country—, as well as the displacement of thousands of Sudanese citizens.
More than 330,000 people were displaced and another 100,000 left for neighboring countries, according to the UN, which estimates there will be eight times as many refugees.
Chad and Egypt are the countries where the most Sudanese refugees, particularly women and children, are arriving; but they are also fleeing to the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Those who stay in Khatrum, one of the hottest cities in the world, suffer from shortages of water, electricity and food.
towards peace negotiations
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who is leading the mediation by members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — an East African economic bloc — urged the two Sudanese leaders to “propose a date to start talks as early as soon as possible”.