CAIRO, May 2. /TASS/. The Sudanese army and the country’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have tentatively agreed to a seven-day ceasefire, starting on May 4, the Foreign Ministry of South Sudan said on Tuesday, the Asharq television channel reported.

"Sudanese army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti) have tentatively agreed a seven-day ceasefire, which should commence on May 4," the ministry said in a statement.

The situation in Sudan escalated amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy on the council. The main points of contention between the two military organizations are related to the timeline and methods of forming unified armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should become the commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is an option supported by al-Burhan, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists. On April 15, armed clashes between the rival military factions erupted near a military base in Merowe and in the capital, Khartoum. According to the country’s Health Ministry, several hundred people have been killed in the country since the conflict broke out.