Fresh US and Saudi-brokered ceasefire: Khartoum was “relatively calm” as Sudan on Saturday morning entered a fresh ceasefire brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US, Reuters reports. The warring Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces agreed to down weapons for 24 hours starting from 6am yesterday to allow for humanitarian assistance to reach civilians, a joint statement from the two facilitators read.
Jeddah talks could be halted if the ceasefire doesn’t hold: Both Saudi Arabia and the US expressed their “frustration” over the “uneven implementation of previous ceasefires,” warning that they could be forced to end indirect ceasefire talks that resumed last week in Jeddah if the latest ceasefire is not respected. Several temporary ceasefires have so far failed to quell fighting on the ground. The US on Friday said it would publicly release some of the results of its satellite monitoring of the conflict to help address violations of ceasefires and human rights abuses.
All Sudanese citizens seeking to enter Egypt must now apply for a visa, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Egypt had previously relaxed the rules to allow women, children and men over 50 into the country without a visa. The new rules “aim to organize, not restrict” the number of Sudanese citizens entering Egypt, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said, adding that authorities had detected “the spread of unlawful activities by some individuals and groups on the Sudanese side,” including the issuing of fraudulent visas. Procedures are in place to promptly issue visas allowing people to cross the border, he added.
More than 200k Sudanese citizens have so far sought refuge in Egypt from the war, Abu Zeid added.