WASHINGTON, April 25 (AFP) - The United States has said that the warring factions in Sudan agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire while Western, Arab and Asian nations raced to extract their citizens from the country.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that the truce deal followed two days of intense negotiations and would begin on Tuesday. The two sides have not abided by several temporary truce deals over the past week.

Fighting erupted between Sudan’s armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group on April 15 and has killed at least 427 people, knocked out hospitals and other services, and turned residential areas into war zones.

“During this period, the United States urges the SAF [Sudan Armed Forces] and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire. To support a durable end to the fighting, the United States will coordinate with regional and international partners, and Sudanese civilian stakeholders,” Blinken said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the violence in a country that flanks the Red Sea, Horn of Africa and Sahel regions “risks a catastrophic conflagration … that could engulf the whole region and beyond”.

He urged the 15 members of the UN Security Council to use their clout to return Sudan to the path of democratic transition after a 2021 military coup that followed the fall of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising.

“We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss … We stand with them at this terrible time,” Guterres said, adding that he had authorised temporary relocation of some UN personnel and families.

The Security Council has planned a meeting on Sudan on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of people, including Sudanese and citizens from neighbouring countries, have fled in the past few days, including to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan, despite instability and difficult living conditions.