Warring factions in Sudan have agreed to a temporary truce
Even as Sudan's warring generals agreed to a 72-hour truce, a physician in the capital of Khartoum says medical care has grown increasingly more dangerous in regions where shelling and airstrikes began more than ten days ago.
"I believe some of the forces that are involved in the conflict are kidnapping doctors," says Dr. Abdulsamad Doka.
Doka tells NPR he believes other physicians are being transported to makeshift hospitals and to treat the members of the rival military forces at gunpoint. He says he's treating patients at his home because of the "real threat" of abduction.
"Right now we are only able to work within the parameters of our neighborhoods," Doka says. "I'm literally, in some cases, having patients come to my house and operating on them."
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, tells Morning Edition she's hopeful that — unlike a cease-fire declared last week — a truce brokered by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia will hold, opening a window for more medical and humanitarian care and civilian departures.
"We're hoping this is better," Thomas-Greenfield says in an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep. "What we really are working toward is getting both parties to agree to implement a sustained nationwide cease-fire and go back to the negotiating table."
Support for Americans fleeing Sudan
Following the shuttering of the U.S. Embassy and an airlift of diplomatic personnel and their families from Khartoum on Saturday, an estimated 16,000 Americans, many with dual citizenship, remain in Sudan.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield says people who want to leave are urged to make sure the "situation is safe" before attempting to flee. U.S. officials, she says, remain committed to supporting Americans who want to leave. "We can reach anyone we need to reach and we have been doing that."
Thomas-Greenfield insists the diplomatic withdrawal amounts to a "temporary suspension" of operations. "We fully intend to resume those operations as soon as it is safe for us to do so."
The ambassador to the United Nations describes "overland convoys" that the U.S. is assisting, just as it did with a U.N. evacuation Monday that involved about 1,000 people. "The president has directed our security and other forces to provide intel and overhead surveillance."
Refugee aid groups say tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians have crossed into bordering countries to escape a conflict that erupted when a power-sharing agreement between two military commanders broke down. The commander of Sudan's armed forces, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammen Hamdan Dagalo, worked together to overthrow Sudan's government in a military coup in 2021. Aid groups have accused both Burhan and Dagalo, also known as Hemedit, of human rights atrocities in the past.
Despite reports of persistent heavy gunfire in the streets of Khartoum, Thomas-Greenfield tells Inskeep the U.S. will keep trying to broker a lasting truce. "We're going to continue our intense efforts at senior levels to engage with both parties and push them to the negotiating table."
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Transcript
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
In Sudan, where one military force has turned against another, leading to combat in the streets, the leaders have agreed to a three-day truce. That may give space for some Sudanese and others to flee or at least find a doctor. Dr. Abdulsamad Doka has been trying to work in Khartoum.
ABDULSAMAD DOKA: It's becoming increasingly difficult because I believe some of the forces that are involved in the conflict are kidnapping doctors. This is a recent thing that has happened in the last 24 hours. I believe they're taking them to makeshift hospitals and having them treat their forces under gun control.
INSKEEP: Because he's worried about being kidnapped, patients come to him.
DOKA: Right now, we are only able to work within the parameters of our neighborhoods. And I'm literally, in some cases, having patients come to my house and operating on them. I'm literally having patients who are within the vicinity of where I live reach me because I - the abduction and the kidnapping thing is a real threat.
INSKEEP: One perspective from Khartoum. The diplomats who monitor all this and try to do something if they can include Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States ambassador to the United Nations. Ambassador, welcome back to the program.
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Thank you, Steve. Happy to be here.
INSKEEP: I was trying to update myself. I looked up Khartoum's cease-fire, and the first article that came up was about a failed cease-fire from several days ago. Could this one be any better?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: We're hoping this is better. As you know, Secretary Blinken and others negotiated a 72-hour cease-fire. But what we really are working toward is getting both parties to agree to implement a sustained nationwide cease-fire and go back to the negotiating table.
INSKEEP: The fact that Secretary Blinken and others were involved - maybe get to this next question. U.S. diplomats have had to shut down the embassy temporarily. They're getting out of there. Yesterday, we had Timothy Carney on the program, former U.S. ambassador to Sudan, who said it was a mistake for U.S. diplomats to leave Sudan in the 1990s. And he said this time, quote, "there had better be some diplomats who stayed in order to do what needs to be done." Do you have people on the ground who can communicate and make a difference?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Look, we're going to continue our intense efforts at senior levels to engage with both parties and push them to the negotiating table. This is just a temporary suspension of operations, and we fully intend to resume those operations as soon as it's safe for us to do so. I mean, we're committed to Sudan. We were committed when Ambassador Carney was evacuated back in 1996 and was working from Nairobi and continuing to engage with the parties. So we will continue to do that.
INSKEEP: Maybe you wouldn't want to say whether somebody is exactly on the ground or not, but do you have every number you can - you need? You can reach anybody you need to reach to do what you need to do.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: We can reach anyone we need to reach, and we have been doing that.
INSKEEP: Give me a picture of how many U.S. citizens want out of the country. We've seen the number of 16,000. I would presume that some people choose to stay. How many people want out, and what can you do for them?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, I don't know the exact number who have expressed an interest in leaving, but we're committed to supporting those who want to leave. The president has directed our security and other forces to provide intel and overhead surveillance. There have been some overland convoys that we provided assistance to. But people have to be able to do that in safety. And we're encouraging them to make sure that the situation is safe before they attempt any efforts to depart.
INSKEEP: I'm interested when you say overhead surveillance. What exactly do you mean by that?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: You know, we're watching the situation on the ground, as we did during the evacuation of a thousand people by the United Nations yesterday, to make sure that if we see any danger, we can advise them of what we're seeing.
INSKEEP: Are U.S. military forces in position to act if there were some emergency that called for that?
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: I can't address that, but we're certainly monitoring the situation very closely.
INSKEEP: Ambassador, it's always a pleasure talking with you. Thank you very much for the update this morning. Really appreciate it.
THOMAS-GREENFIELD: Thank you, Steve, and any time.
INSKEEP: Linda Thomas-Greenfield is the United States ambassador to the United Nations. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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