With the fighting in Sudan entering its third week, battles have renewed between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in central Khartoum and the vicinity of the presidential palace.
Continued air strikes and artillery shelling
For its part, the Rapid Support Forces announced the extension of the humanitarian truce for 72 hours, starting at midnight. She added, “We renew our strict commitment to the humanitarian truce and the complete ceasefire,” noting that it confronted repeated attacks by the army during the days of the truce.
The two parties to the conflict exchange accusations of violating the armistice, which was extended for three days with international mediation. The Sudanese army accused the Rapid Support Forces of continuing the indiscriminate shelling of areas around the General Command, central Khartoum and Omdurman. Columns of smoke rose from the center of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, while thousands of foreigners continued to be evacuated from Sudan.
Khartoum witnessed air strikes and sporadic gunfire despite the declared truce and international efforts to stop the fighting, amid warnings of the fighting developing into a civil war.
The war has caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries, while about 75,000 people have fled to neighboring countries, Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad and South Sudan, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, while foreign countries are organizing large-scale evacuations.
In this context, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, expressed his regret at the continuation of the fighting while “the country is collapsing,” according to what he said in a statement to Al-Arabiya TV.
Residents trying to flee or staying in their homes suffer comprehensive crises, with water and electricity cuts and food shortages.
And the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate announced that 70% of the health facilities in areas close to the fighting sites are out of service, and many of them have been bombed.
The two warring sides, the two conflicting generals, exchanged accusations. The President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir, a historical mediator in Sudan, called on the two generals to conduct a “direct, constructive and concrete dialogue.” He also urged them “not to try to reinforce positions,” noting that many observers noted that any truce did not hold because neither side to the conflict wanted to allow the other an opportunity to advance or bring reinforcements.
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