The United Nations envoy for Sudan, Volker Perthes, appealed to the country’s warring generals to uphold a seven-day cease-fire starting Monday night.

Perthes expressed concern that the escalating ethnic dimension of the conflict could lead Sudan into a prolonged war, the Associated Press reported.

Addressing the UN Security Council, Perthes acknowledged that despite previous declarations of cease-fires by both sides, the conflict, which commenced on April 15, has shown no signs of abating.

He stressed the urgency of halting the fighting this time to facilitate the delivery of essential humanitarian aid to those in need and to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians caught in the crossfire.

Following a meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Saturday, US and Saudi mediators announced that representatives of the Sudanese army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid

Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, had agreed to a short-term cease-fire. The cease-fire was scheduled to come into effect at 9:45 p.m. local time in Sudan on Monday night.

Written by staff