Pope Francis renews call for violence to stop in Sudan, urges dialogue

Vatican City [Vatican], April 23 : Pope Francis has called for dialogue between Sudan's opposing armed forces as the violence in the North African country only getting worse every day, according to Al Jazeera.

During his Sunday address at St Peter's Square in the Vatican, Pope called for dialogue between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.

"Unfortunately, the situation remains grave in Sudan," the Pope said in St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

"That is why I am renewing my call for the violence to stop as quickly as possible and for dialogue to resume," he added.

Since the battle started, there have been more than 400 fatalities and more than 3,500 injuries, reported Al Jazeera. Sudan is facing violence due to fighting between the army and the paramilitary forces. There are reports of violence even amid a 72-hour ceasefire.

The conflict began when a coup in 2021 between Sudan's military leader and his deputy on the ruling council erupted derailing a plan for a transition to a civilian democracy after the fall of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Elections were supposed to be held by the end of 2023.

Fighting has raged between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Several countries have started evacuating their citizens from conflict-torn Sudan. The US was the recent country that conducted an operation and evacuated government personnel from Sudan.

"Today, on my orders, the United States military conducted an operation to extract US Government personnel from Khartoum. I am proud of the extraordinary commitment of our Embassy staff, who performed their duties with courage and professionalism and embodied America's friendship and connection with the people of Sudan," Biden said in a statement, released by the White House.

"I am grateful for the unmatched skill of our service members who successfully brought them to safety. And I thank Djibouti, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, which were critical to the success of our operation," he added.

The US President further stated that he is receiving regular reports from his team over the ongoing work to assist Americans in Sudan, to the extent possible. The US is working closely with our allies and partners in this effort.

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