Sudan's rivals agree to protect civilians

Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have signed a declaration of commitment to protect civilians amid their ongoing conflict.

In a teleconference briefing on Thursday, senior US State Department officials said representatives from the warring sides signed the agreement in Jeddah on guidelines to create secure conditions for humanitarian assistance delivery and restore essential services like electricity and water.

This is in addition to arranging for the withdrawal of security forces from hospitals and clinics as well as allowing the respectful burial of the dead.

"This is not a cease-fire. This is an affirmation of their obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly with regard to the treatment of civilians and the need to create space for humanitarians to operate," the officials said.

"The parties themselves said they wanted this kind of approach. As you all know, in the early days of the war and even through this week, warehouses of aid agencies have been ransacked."

They said the agreement has paved the way for the Saudi and United States mediators to negotiate an actual short-term cease-fire.

Different feature

The officials said they have developed a cease-fire monitoring mechanism, supported by the United Nations, the Saudis, and other members of the international community, which is a different feature from the negotiations of earlier cease-fires.

The mechanism includes overhead imagery, satellite data, and technology that allows use of artificial intelligence to look at social media messages and link those to reports of cease-fire violations.

This is in addition to finding out if there are images or text that illuminate what might have happened at particular places where there are alleged violations.

The officials said the mechanism will help hold the parties accountable for what they agreed to.

"The two sides asked us (the US and Saudis) to help them out with this, but there is every expectation that this process will be expanded to include first, and most importantly, Sudanese civilians; and second, regional partners in Africa and in the Arab world and in the international community," they said.

The officials underscored the need to form a broader civilian coalition, one that is more representative and includes voices from women, from nonpolitical sides like members of civil society.

They said the negotiations were tough, due to the depth of enmity between the two parties and the level of mistrust.

While the agreement on the declaration of commitments took longer than expected, the officials said it allowed time for discussions on a number of issues that are directly related to the next step, which is agreeing on specific measures to facilitate an effective short-term cease-fire.