The Chairman of the African Union Commission, Amb Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Saturday, April 15, called for a ceasefire in Sudan after the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) clashed in the capital Khartoum. Mahamat has continued to follow very closely, and with deep concern, the developments in Sudan and to encourage, directly and indirectly, the political, civilian and military parties to find a consensual solution to the crisis created by the October 25 coup and its harmful consequences, the AU Commission said in a statement. The AU said tensions have gone “dangerously out of control and resort to armed violence has prevailed as a means of resolving political disputes.” “The AUC Chairperson makes a fervent appeal to all parties, the armed forces and the rapid intervention forces, in particular, to immediately stop the destruction of the country, the panic of the populations and the bloodbaths of the innocents in the last ten years of the holy month of Ramadan,” the statement reads in part. Shooting and blasts took place on Saturday in the vicinity of Sudan’s army headquarters and the defence ministry in central Khartoum, as well as the presidential palace and airport, Al Jazeera reported. Mahamat called upon international players to urge restraint in Sudan to bring the situation under control. “At this moment of extreme gravity, the Chairperson of the AUC urges all components of the international community to combine, in unity and urgency, their efforts to bring the parties to immediately cease military actions and return to the negotiating table for a satisfactory exit from the crisis for all,” the statement said.
