Warplanes on bombing raids yesterday drew heavy anti-aircraft fire over Khartoum as fierce fighting between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries entered a third week, despite a renewed truce.
Sudan has plunged into chaos and lawlessness since fighting erupted on April 15 between forces loyal to Sudanese army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his No. 2, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Burhan and Daglo have agreed to multiple truces since the start of the conflict, but none have effectively taken hold, with each side blaming the other for breaching them.
Photo: Reuters
The latest three-day ceasefire was agreed on Thursday after mediation led by the African Union, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UN aimed at securing a more lasting truce.
“We woke up once again to the sound of fighter jets and anti-aircraft weapons blasting all over our neighborhood,” a witness in southern Khartoum said.
Another witness said that fighting had been ongoing since the early morning, especially around the state broadcaster’s headquarters in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman.
Residents across Khartoum — home to 5 million people — have largely sheltered at home, despite supplies of food and water dwindling to dangerously low levels and a lack of electricity.
Some managed to sneak out during brief lulls in fighting to buy desperately needed supplies.
As battles raged on the ground, the two rival generals took aim at each other in the media, with Burhan branding the RSF a militia that aims “to destroy Sudan,” in an interview with US-based TV channel Alhurra.
He also said that “mercenaries” were pouring over the border from Chad, Central African Republic and Niger to exploit the chaos.
Daglo denounced the army chief in an interview with the BBC, saying that he was “not trustworthy” and a “traitor.”
The clashes have so far killed at least 512 people and wounded 4,193, the Sudanese Ministry of Health said, although the death toll is feared to be much higher.
About 75,000 people have been internally displaced by the fighting in Khartoum and the states of Blue Nile, North Kordofan, as well as the restive western region of Darfur, the UN said.
Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled into neighboring countries including Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan, while foreign countries have carried out mass evacuations of their nationals.
The UK said it would end evacuation flights for its citizens and their relatives yesterday, after airlifting more than 1,500 people this week.
The UN said on Friday that its last international staff had been evacuated from Darfur.
The UN described the situation in Darfur as “alarming” while Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said there were reports of widespread looting, destruction and burning of property, including at camps for displaced people.
“The current fighting has forced us to stop almost all of our activities in West Darfur,” MSF deputy operations manager for Sudan Sylvain Perron said. “We are incredibly worried about the impact this violence is having on people who have already lived through waves of violence in the previous years.”
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