Hafez Al-Zain, an advisor to the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said Lieutenant General Mohammad Hamdan Dagalo is personally leading the battles in Omdurman, Bahri, and Khartoum.

During televised statements, Al-Zain denied reports about the killing or injury of Dagalo and the second commander of the forces, Lieutenant General Abd Al-Rahim Dagalo, stressing that the latter moves between the forces to lead the battles.

Al-Zain stressed that the RSF will not leave the positions they have taken control of since the outbreak of fighting on April 15 against the Sudanese army led by chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, accusing the Sudanese army of orchestrating a coup against the paramilitary group.

The RSF advisor indicated that his forces are stationed legally to protect hospitals and provide services to medical staff in hospitals and residents of the capital, adding that otherwise news being reported is a "sham" to undermine the RSF.

Gunfire and explosions again rocked Sudan's capital Monday, hours before a one-week humanitarian ceasefire was due to take effect after a series of previous truce deals were all violated.

The United States and Saudi Arabia on Sunday announced that the ceasefire agreed upon between the rival camps would take effect at 9:45 pm (1945 GMT) Monday to enable humanitarian assistance to civilians.

The two sides on Sunday affirmed that they would respect the ceasefire, which was welcomed by the United Nations, African Union, and East African bloc IGAD.

The Sudan Doctors Union highlighted in a statement that the number of people killed since the outbreak of clashes between the army and the RSF rose to 863, while 3531 injuries were reported.

The statement noted that many deaths and injuries were not listed in the report because it was unable to reach hospitals due to the difficulty of transportation and the current security situation in the country.

More than a million were displaced in the more than five weeks of violence that have plunged the already poverty-stricken country deeper into a humanitarian crisis. 

Medics have repeatedly warned that the healthcare system is on the verge of collapse in Khartoum and elsewhere, particularly the western Darfur region that has been wracked by decades of deadly conflict.

The joint US-Saudi statement sought to assure that this ceasefire would be respected, saying it was "signed by the parties and will be supported by a US-Saudi and international-supported ceasefire monitoring mechanism."

The UN's envoy to Sudan Volker Perthes was due to brief the Security Council on the situation in the country on Monday evening.

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