Agencies
February 12(Darfur 24)
The United Arab Emirates UAE called for a ceasefire in Sudan during the month of Ramadan, but a source in the Sudanese army responded by rejecting the call, according to Reuters.
UAE official said, “With the approach of the holy month of Ramadan, which is the month of mercy and compassion, UAE calls on all parties to respect this sacred period by ceasing fire for humanitarian reasons.”
A senior source in the Sudanese army told Reuters when asked to comment, “We do not accept a ceasefire in Ramadan unless the siege is lifted on all besieged cities and areas.”
The Sudanese army considers the UAE an aggressor in the war and accuses it of arming the Rapid Support Forces RSF, accusations that UN experts and US lawmakers have said are credible, while the UAE denies these accusations.
The war in Sudan has caused the world’s largest humanitarian disaster, displacing more than 12 million people, pushing half the population into hunger and exacerbating the fragmentation of this poor country.
RSF are currently launching attacks on the city of El Fasher, the last remaining stronghold of the army in the Darfur region, but they are losing areas that were under their control to the army in the capital, Khartoum.
In addition to the ceasefire, the UAE official said that his country intends to hold a summit on Friday in Addis Ababa, in cooperation with the African Union, to attract the necessary funding for humanitarian efforts in Sudan, adding that it will announce funding worth $200 million.
The Sudanese government rejected the idea of the summit on Monday, and Malik Agar, the deputy head of the Sovereignty Council, said that it represents “a crime and a complete aggression against an African country seeking to protect its territory and sovereignty,” given what is being raised about the UAE’s participation in the war.
UAE official said, “Unfortunately, the Sudanese army seeks to distort the role of the UAE by distorting the facts… These allegations will not distract the UAEfrom its primary goal of promoting stability.”