U.N. urges Sudan's warring parties to honour 7-day ceasefire starting from May 22 night

The U.N. envoy for Sudan urged the country’s warring generals to honour a seven-day ceasefire starting from May 22 night, warning the growing ethnic dimension to the fighting risks engulfing Sudan in a prolonged conflict .

The U.N. envoy for Sudan urged the country's warring generals to honour a seven-day ceasefire starting from May 22 night, warning the growing ethnic dimension to the fighting risks engulfing Sudan in a prolonged conflict .

Volker Perthes told the U.N. Security Council that the conflict, which began April 15, has shown no signs of slowing down despite previous declarations of cease-fires by both sides.

But he said this time they must stop the fighting so desperately needed humanitarian aid can get to those in need and civilians caught in the fighting can leave safely.

U.S. and Saudi mediators announced after a meeting in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Saturday that representatives of the Sudanese army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, signed off on the short-term cease-fire due to take effect at 9:45 pm local time in Sudan on Monday night.

The pending truce is the seventh cease-fire to be announced since the conflict began April 15. All previous deals have foundered.

Unlike the previous verbal truces, Monday's inked deal — brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia — will be accompanied by a cross-party committee designed to track any potential violations, the two mediating nations said.

The 12-person committee will be comprised of three representatives from both warring parties, three from the U.S., and three from Saudi Arabia.