The chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan. PHOTO | ASHRAF SHAZLY | AFP

South Sudan’s Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Friday that Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fatah al-Burhan has accepted an IGAD-led initiative to mediate the escalating fighting.

On Thursday, warring Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces agreed to renew a three-day ceasefire which commenced from mid last night until the end of Sunday.

The extension for another 72 hours is said to be broken by President Salva Kiir, regional heads of states as well as the US, UK and UN.

South Sudan’s Acting Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng said Al-Burhan expressed willingness to maintain a holding ceasefire for humanitarian grounds.

“President al-Burhan in a call with President Salva Kiir Mayardit gave his initial acceptance of the initiative,” he said while speaking to diplomats in Juba.

Dau said Juba has also sent a similar written request to the leader of RSF.

The South Sudan official also hopes that the extended 72-hour ceasefire will shift the attentions of the Sudanese warring parties towards a face-to-face dialogue to end the conflict.

“We hope that, this particular ceasefire will have more meaning and will have more impacts on the life of the Sudanese people both who are in Khartoum and those who are outside,” he said.

“We were hoping that the attention will shift on how to get face-to-face talk because war cannot be won in the battel field. Our hope is that this particular period of 72 hours or beyond could be used as a way to resumed table of talk so that issues and root-causes and how this war can be averted.”

According to the minister, once the parties agree on the location, the IGAD Tripartite Committee will start the negotiations with the parties.

However, Deng said the tripartite committee led by the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya, and Djibouti are waiting for the situation to calm and Khartoum Airport to reopen inorder to travel to Sudan.