The foreign ministry in Juba announced on Tuesday that the warring parties in Sudan had agreed to a seven-day cease-fire beginning on May 4. This news raised expectations of an end to weeks of killing.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo and Sudan's army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan "have agreed in principle for a seven-day truce from May 4th to 11th," the ministry said in a statement.
Air raids and artillery exchanges that blasted large portions of greater Khartoum resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries, forcing thousands of Sudanese to flee to neighboring nations.
According to the Juba statement, all parties have also agreed "to name their representatives to peace talks to be held at any venue of their choice."
As part of an effort by the East African regional group IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development), which has been pressing for a stop to the conflict and repeating appeals from the African Union and the international world, Kiir was speaking to Burhan and Daglo.
