SUDAN’S warring generals pledged today to observe a new three-day truce brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States in an attempt to pull Africa’s third-largest nation back from the abyss.

Several previous ceasefires declared since the April 15 outbreak of fighting were not observed, although intermittent lulls during the weekend’s major Muslim holiday allowed for dramatic evacuations of hundreds of diplomats, aid workers and other foreigners by air and land.

For many Sudanese, the departure of foreigners and closure of embassies is a terrifying sign that international powers expect a worsening of the fighting that has already pushed the population into disaster.

Meanwhile, Sudanese civilians have been supported by the resistance committees in their desperate attempts to escape the chaos, fearing that the rival camps will escalate their all-out battle for power once evacuations are completed.

Late on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he had helped to broker a new 72-hour ceasefire. The truce would be an extension of the supposed three-day holiday ceasefire that has barely been observed by either side.

The Sudanese military, commanded by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, both said today that they would instruct their fighters to observe the ceasefire. 

“This ceasefire aims to establish humanitarian corridors, allowing citizens and residents to access essential resources, healthcare and safe zones, while also evacuating diplomatic missions,” the RSF said in a statement.

The army announcement used similar language, saying that it will abide by the truce “on the condition that the rebels commit to stopping all hostilities.”

But fighting continued, including in Omdurman, a city across the Nile River from Khartoum. 

Omdurman resident Amin Ishaq said: “They did not stop fighting. 

“They stop only when they run out of ammunition.”

Sudan Doctors Syndicate secretary Atiya Abdalla Atiya said: “They don’t respect ceasefires.”

United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres warned of a “catastrophic conflagration” that could engulf the whole region.

He urged the 15 members of the security council to “exert maximum leverage” on both sides in order to “pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss.”

Initial estimates put the death toll at more than 420 people with over 3,700 wounded since the fighting began. Both figures are likely to be significant underestimates.