The war in Sudan started on April 15, 2023. The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces — a paramilitary that grew from the Janjaweed remnants that terrorised Darfur in the 2000s into a parallel army with its own money, territory, and political relationships — began fighting in Khartoum and spread outward. Twenty-two months later, with 10 million displaced and famine confirmed in five states, they have agreed to stop shooting. For now.
The Addis Ababa agreement opens with a 72-hour cessation of hostilities. That's the confidence-building part. A permanent ceasefire follows, contingent on monitoring mechanisms both sides have accepted in principle and will negotiate in detail over the next thirty days. The humanitarian corridor annex — negotiated alongside the ceasefire, not as an afterthought — opens six land routes and two air corridors. UN agencies and approved NGOs can move without advance authorisation. That's the part that matters most immediately.
The WFP has supplies staged in Chad, Egypt, and South Sudan for 45 days of operations, and convoy movements start within 96 hours of the ceasefire holding. UNICEF estimates 3.7 million children in newly accessible areas are experiencing acute malnutrition. Those convoys cannot wait for the political details to be finalised.
There have been four previous ceasefires in this conflict. None held. International observers say this one is different in two ways: it's the first with a functioning monitoring mechanism, and it's the first both parties actually signed rather than announcing separately. That is a low bar. It is also a real one.
"This is a beginning, not an end," said African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat. "The people of Sudan have waited too long for a beginning. They should not have to wait any longer."