EU calls on immediate cease-fire in Sudan

GENEVA

The EU on Thursday called on the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces to immediately cease fighting in the country so that humanitarian and lifesaving medical assistance could reach people.

"We keep receiving devastating reports of loss of life in Sudan, especially civilian," said Janez Lenarcic, the EU's commissioner for crisis management, on Twitter.

"I most strongly condemn the fighting and call on both parties to deescalate with an immediate cease-fire so as to enable medical staff and humanitarian aid workers provide life saving assistance," Lenarcic stated.

At least 270 people have been killed and 2,600 others injured in armed clashes since Saturday between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) troops in the capital Khartoum and its surrounding areas.

The RSF accused the army of attacking its forces in the south of Khartoum with light and heavy weapons, while the military claimed that the paramilitary force was “spreading lies,” and labeled it a “rebel” group.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since Oct. 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in what political forces called a "coup."