Fierce fighting rages in Sudanese capital as ceasefire fails yet again
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Fighting returned in Sudan after the ceasefire confirmed by the RSF did not last.
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Destroyed military vehicles are seen in southern Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP)
Despite a 72-hour ceasefire, warring factions in Sudan engaged in fierce clashes on Friday, with heavy gunfire and explosions heard in the capital Khartoum and other cities.
After six days of intense fighting, and to mark the start of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the country's paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced a truce early on Friday.
The group stated that it would observe a 72-hour ceasefire beginning at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Friday, but Sudan's armed forces (SAF) did not confirm it. “The armistice coincides with the blessed Eid al-Fitr, and open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens and give them the opportunity to greet their families,” read the RSF statement.
Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands have been injured in clashes between forces loyal to Sudan's army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti).
World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris told reporters in Geneva Friday that "four hundred and thirteen people have died and 3,551 people have been injured." The UN children's agency UNICEF said at least nine children were among the dead and more than 50 had been wounded.
The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said that overnight, as the Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan began, "several areas of Khartoum were bombed" and reported "shelling and clashes" for the sixth straight night.
"We call on all citizens to exercise caution, stay home, close doors and windows and lie down. We also call on these forces to be responsible and immediately stop fighting to protect innocent lives," the committee said in a statement.
The capital has been witnessing days of fighting with air strikes and tank fire in densely populated areas, with most of its five million people locked up in homes without electricity, food, or water.
The SAF commander appeared on television Friday morning, expressing sorrow for the victims of the fighting and praying for a peaceful Eid, but he made no mention of the RST-proposed ceasefire. “For Eid this year, our country is bleeding: destruction, desolation and the sound of bullets have taken precedence over joy,” Burhan said in a pre-recorded video.
“We hope that we will come out of this ordeal more united… a single army, a single people… towards a civilian power.”
US State Secretary Antony Blinken spoke with Sudan Army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday, and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), the commander of the RSF, and urged the parties to the conflict in Sudan to uphold a nationwide ceasefire until the end of the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday on April 23.
Following the breakout of clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Saturday, the League of Arab States' (LAS) Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit voiced his condemnation on April 15th of arms use and urged for an immediate ceasefire.
