Egypt and South Sudan today offered to mediate between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. who started fighting in Khartoum and in other cities across the country yesterday, according to a statement released by the Egyptian president.

In a telephone call today between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir, Sudan’s two most powerful immediate neighbors called on both sides in the power struggle to “choose the voice of reason (and) peaceful dialogue,” the statement said.

In another development, the African Union Peace and Stability Council called an emergency meeting today to discuss political and security developments in Sudan, a Twitter post said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations today condemned the killing of three World Food Program (WFP) employees during yesterday’s clashes in Sudan, saying they were killed in the line of duty.

Volker Perthes, head of UN mission UNITAMS, said today that three WFP employees were killed yesterday in clashes in Kampkabia in North Darfur.

“I am also appalled by reports of missiles hitting UN facilities and other humanitarian facilities, as well as reports of looting of UN facilities and other humanitarian facilities at several locations in Darfur,” said Perthes, who is also the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Sudan.

Source: RES