Tag: sudan

Foreign governments rescue embassy staff from Khartoum

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Foreign governments evacuated diplomats, staff and others trapped in Sudan on Sunday as rival generals battled for a ninth day with no sign of a truce that had been declared for a major Muslim holiday.

While world powers like the U.S. and Britain airlifted their diplomats from the capital of Khartoum, Sudanese desperately sought to flee the chaos. Many risked dangerous roads to seek safer spots or crossed the northern frontier into Egypt.

“My family — my mother, my siblings and my nephews — are on the road from Sudan to Cairo through Aswan,” prominent Sudanese filmmaker Amjad Abual-Ala wrote on Facebook.

Fighting raged in Omdurman, a city across the Nile from Khartoum, residents said, despite a hoped-for cease-fire to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

“We did not see such a truce,” Amin al-Tayed said from his home near state TV headquarters in Omdurman, adding that heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city.

More than 420 killed

More than 420 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed and more than 3,700 have been wounded in the fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.

In Sunday’s fighting, a senior military official said army and police repelled an RSF attack on Kober Prison in Khartoum where Sudan’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, and former officials in his movement have been imprisoned since he was ousted in 2019. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media, said a number of prisoners fled but al-Bashir and other high-profile inmates were still held in a “highly secure” area. The official said “a few prisoners” were killed or wounded.

The RSF claimed later Sunday that the military removed al-Bashir and other prisoners from the facility, although the statement could not be independently confirmed.

The ongoing violence has paralyzed the main international airport, destroying civilian planes and damaging at least one runway. Other airports also have been knocked out of operation.

The Arqin border crossing with Egypt was crowded with about 30 passenger buses holding at least 55 people each, said Suliman al-Kouni, an Egyptian dental student who fled northward from Khartoum with dozens of other Egyptian students.

“We travelled 15 hours on land at our own risk,” al-Kouni told The Associated Press by phone. “But many of our friends are still trapped in Sudan.”

Thick, black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum’s airport. The RSF claimed the armed forces unleashed airstrikes on the up market neighbourhood of Kfoury, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate army comment.

The country experienced a “near-total collapse” of internet and phone connections nationwide Sunday, according to the monitoring service NetBlocks.

“It’s possible that infrastructure has been damaged or sabotaged,” said Netblocks director Alp Toker. “This will have a major effect on residents’ ability to stay safe and will impact the evacuation programs that are ongoing.”

After a week of bloody battles that hindered rescues, U.S. special forces swiftly evacuated 70 U.S. Embassy staffers from Khartoum to Ethiopia early Sunday. Although American officials said it was too dangerous for a government-coordinated evacuation of private citizens, other countries scrambled to remove citizens and diplomats.

British diplomats evacuated “amid a significant escalation in violence”

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that U.K. armed forces evacuated British diplomatic staff and their families “amid a significant escalation in violence and threats.” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said over 1,200 military personnel were involved.

France, Greece, Jordan and other nations also organised flights. The Netherlands sent two Hercules C-130 planes and an Airbus A330 to Jordan for 152 Dutch citizens who made their way from Sudan to an undisclosed evacuation point, but “not without risks,” said Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. Italy, seeking to extract 140 of its nationals, sent military jets to Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden, said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Overland travel through contested areas has proven dangerous. Khartoum is about 840 kilometres (520 miles) from Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it evacuated 157 people, including 91 Saudi nationals and citizens of other countries. Saudi state TV showed a large convoy of cars and buses travelling from Khartoum to Port Sudan, where a navy ship took them to the Saudi port of Jeddah.

Power struggle

The power struggle between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has dealt a harsh blow to Sudan’s hopes for a democratic transition. The rival generals came to power after a pro-democracy uprising led to the ouster of the former strongman, al-Bashir. In 2021, the generals joined forces to seize power in a coup.

The current violence came after Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

Both generals, each craving international legitimacy, have accused the other of obstructing the evacuations. The Sudanese military alleged the RSF opened fire on a French convoy, wounding a French national. The RSF countered it came under attack by warplanes as French citizens and diplomats left the embassy for Omdurman, saying the military’s strikes “endangered the lives of French nationals.”

French President Emmanuel Macron and his foreign minister were given security guarantees by both sides for the evacuation, according to Defense and Foreign Ministry officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to talk publicly. The officials said a military flight carrying about 100 people left Khartoum for Djibouti, with another planned.

Hospitals have struggled as violence rages. Many wounded are stranded by the fighting, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate that monitors casualties, suggesting the death toll is probably higher than what is known.

The Italian medical group Emergency said 46 of its staff refused to leave, working in hospitals in Khartoum, Nyala and Port Sudan.

Thousands of Sudanese have fled Khartoum and other hot spots, according to U.N. agencies, but millions are sheltering in their homes from explosions, gunfire and looting without adequate electricity, food or water.

In the western region of Darfur, up to 20,000 people left for neighbouring Chad. War is not new to Darfur, where ethnically motivated violence has killed as many as 300,000 people since 2003. But Sudan is not used to such heavy fighting in its capital, which “has become a ghost city,” said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate.

Fighters attacked a U.S. Embassy convoy last week, and stormed the home of the European Union ambassador to Sudan. The recent violence wounded an Egyptian Embassy employee in Sudan, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zaid.

Egypt, which said it had over 10,000 citizens in Sudan, urged those in cities other than Khartoum to head to consular offices in Port Sudan and Wadi Halfa in the north for evacuation, the state-run MENA news agency reported.

Khalid Omar, a spokesman for the pro-democracy bloc that seeks to restore civilian rule, urged the military and the RSF to return to talks to resolve their differences.

“There is an opportunity to stop this war and put the county on the right path,” he wrote on Facebook. “This is a war fueled by groups from the deposed regime who want it to continue.”

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French national reported shot as governments evacuate from Sudan

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A French national has been reported shot trying to evacuate from Sudan as fighting continues to rage in the capital Khartoum, despite a promised ceasefire.

The Sudanese military alleged that the rival Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, had opened fire on a French convoy during its evacuation, wounding a French national. In response, the RSF claimed it came under attack by military aircraft as French citizens and diplomats made their way to Omdurman after evacuating the embassy. It said the military’s strikes “endangered the lives of French nationals, injuring one of them.”

The French Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the details of the rescue operation or the reported shooting for security reasons, but said the evacuation was continuing as planned.

International governments are racing to evacuate their diplomatic staff and citizens trapped in the capital as rival generals battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country for a ninth day.

France, Greece and other European nations were organizing a mass exodus Sunday. French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said France was undertaking the operation with the help of European allies.

The Greek foreign minister said the country had dispatched aircraft and special forces to its ally, Egypt, in preparation for an evacuation of 120 Greek and Cypriot nationals from Khartoum. Most evacuees were sheltering at a Greek Orthodox cathedral in the capital, Nikos Dendias said.

The Netherlands sent two air force Hercules C-130 planes and an Airbus A330 to Jordan to rescue 152 Dutch citizens in Sudan who made their way to an undisclosed evacuation point Sunday. “We deeply sympathize with the Dutch in Sudan,” said Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren. “The evacuation and the transfer to the assembly point are not without risks.”

Italy dispatched military jets to the Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to extract 140 Italian nationals from Sudan, many of whom have taken refuge in the embassy, said Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Fighting raged in Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, residents reported. The violence came despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

“We did not see such a truce,” said Amin al-Tayed from his home near state television headquarters in Omdurman. He said heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city.

Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum’s airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed airstrikes on the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate comment from the army.

On Sunday, the country experienced a “near-total collapse” of internet connection and phone lines nationwide, according to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring service.

“It’s possible that infrastructure has been damaged or sabotaged,” Alp Toker, director of Netblocks, said in an interview. “This will have a major effect on residents’ ability to stay safe and will impact the evacuation programs that are ongoing.”

After a week of bloody battles that hindered rescue efforts, U.S. special forces swiftly evacuated 70 U.S. embassy staffers from Khartoum to an undisclosed location in Ethiopia early Sunday. Although American officials said it was too dangerous to carry out a government-coordinated evacuation of private citizens, other countries scrambled to evacuate citizens and diplomats.

The fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the powerful paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, has targeted and paralyzed the country’s main international airport, reducing a number of civilian aircraft to ruins and gutting at least one runway. Other airports across the country have also been knocked out of operation.

Overland travel across areas contested by the warring parties has proven dangerous. Khartoum is some 840 kilometres from Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

But some countries have pressed ahead with the journey. Saudi Arabia on Saturday said the kingdom successfully evacuated 157 people, including 91 Saudi nationals and citizens of other countries. Saudi state TV released footage of a large convoy of Saudis and other foreign nationals travelling by car and bus from Khartoum to Port Sudan, where a navy ship then ferried the evacuees across the Red Sea to the Saudi port of Jeddah.

The power struggle between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has dealt a harsh blow to Sudan’s heady hopes for a democratic transition. More than 420 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed and more than 3,700 have been wounded in the fighting.

As violence rages, hospitals say they are struggling to cope. Many dead and wounded have been stranded by the fighting, according to the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate that monitors casualties, suggesting the death toll is probably higher than what is publicly known.

The conflict has left millions of Sudanese stranded at home — hiding from explosions, gunfire and looting — without adequate electricity, food or water.

Thousands of Sudanese have fled the combat in Khartoum and other hotspots, according to U.N. agencies. Up to 20,000 people have abandoned their homes in the western region of Darfur for neighbouring Chad. War is not new to Darfur, where ethnically motivated violence has killed as many as 300,000 people since 2003. But Sudan is not used to such heavy fighting in its capital.

“The capital has become a ghost city,” said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate.

The fighting has also caught civilians — including foreign diplomats — in the crossfire. Fighters attacked a U.S. Embassy convoy last week, and stormed the home of the European Union ambassador to Sudan. The recent violence wounded an Egyptian diplomat in Sudan, the spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zaid, said Sunday, without offering further details.

From the Vatican, Pope Francis called for prayers and offered invocations for peace in the vast African nation.

“I am renewing my appeal so that violence ceases as soon as possible and that the path of dialogue resumes,” Francis told those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The current explosion of violence came after Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

The rival generals rose to power in the tumultuous aftermath of popular uprisings that led to the ouster of Sudan’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019. Two years later, they joined forces to seize power in a coup that ousted the civilian leaders and opened a troubled new chapter in the country’s history.

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Sudan rivals pledge evacuation help, U.S. diplomats airlifted

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American embassy staffers were airlifted from Sudan early on April 23, as forces loyal to rival generals battled for control of Africa’s third-largest nation for a ninth day amid fading hopes for deescalation.

The warring sides said they were helping coordinate the evacuation of foreigners, though continued exchanges of fire in Sudan’s capital undermined those claims.

Also read | Saudi Arabia evacutes Indians along with other foreigners in Sudan

A senior Biden administration official said U.S. troops are carrying out the precarious evacuation of U.S. Embassy staffers. The troops who airlifted the staff out of Khartoum have safely left Sudanese airspace, a second U.S. official confirmed.

The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which has been battling the Sudanese army, said the U.S. rescue mission involved six aircraft and that it had coordinated evacuation efforts with the U.S.

The RSF, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamad Dagolo, said it is cooperating with all diplomatic missions and that it is committed to a three-day cease-fire that was declared at sundown Friday.

Earlier, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan said he would facilitate the evacuation of American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan after speaking with the leaders of several countries that had requested help.

However, the situation on the ground remains volatile. Most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital has proven intensely dangerous. The two rivals have dug in, signaling they would resume the fighting after the declared three-day truce.

Questions have swirled over how the mass rescues of foreign citizens would unfold, with Sudan’s main international airport closed and millions of people sheltering indoors. As battles between the Sudanese army and the powerful paramilitary group rage in and around Khartoum, including in residential areas, foreign countries have struggled to repatriate their citizens — many trapped in their homes as food supplies dwindle.

The White House would not confirm the Sudanese military’s announcement. “We have made very clear to both sides that they are responsible for ensuring the protection of civilians and noncombatants,” the National Security Council said. On Friday, the U.S. said it had no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of the estimated 16,000 American citizens trapped in Sudan.

Saudi Arabia announced the successful repatriation of some of its citizens on Saturday, sharing footage of Saudi nationals and other foreigners welcomed with chocolate and flowers as they stepped off an apparent evacuation ship at the Saudi port of Jeddah.

Officials did not elaborate on exactly how the rescue unfolded but Burhan said the Saudi diplomats and nationals had first traveled by land to Port Sudan, the country’s main seaport on the Red Sea. He said that Jordan’s diplomats would soon be evacuated in the same way. The port is in Sudan’s far east, some 840 kilometers (520 miles) from Khartoum.

President Joe Biden ordered American troops to evacuate embassy personnel after receiving a recommendation earlier Saturday from his national security team with no end in sight to the fighting, according to the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the mission.

The evacuation order was believed to apply to about 70 Americans. U.S. forces were flying them from a landing zone at the embassy to an unspecified location.

With the U.S. focused on evacuating diplomats first, the Pentagon said it was moving additional troops and equipment to a Naval base in the tiny Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the effort.

Burhan told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite channel on Saturday that flights in and out of Khartoum remained risky because of the ongoing clashes. He claimed that the military had regained control over all the other airports in the country, except for one in the southwestern city of Nyala.

“We share the international community’s concern about foreign nationals,” he said, promising Sudan would provide “necessary airports and safe passageways” for foreigners trapped in the fighting, without elaborating.

Two cease-fire attempts earlier this week also rapidly collapsed. The turmoil has dealt a perhaps fatal blow to hopes for the country’s transition to a civilian-led democracy and raised concerns the chaos could draw in its neighbors, including Chad, Egypt and Libya.

“The war has been continuous since day one. It has not stopped for one moment,” said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, which monitors casualties. The clashes have killed over 400 people so far, according to the World Health Organization. The bombardments, gunbattles and sniper fire in densely populated areas have hit civilian infrastructure, including many hospitals.

The international airport near the center of the capital has come under heavy shelling as the RSF has tried to take control of the compound. In an apparent effort to oust the RSF fighters, the Sudanese army has pounded the airport with airstrikes, gutting at least one runway and leaving wrecked planes scattered on the tarmac. The full extent of damage at the airfield remains unclear.

The conflict has opened a dangerous new chapter in Sudan’s history, thrusting the country into uncertainty.

“No one can predict when and how this war will end,” Burhan told the Al-Hadath news channel. “I am currently in the command center and will only leave it in a coffin.”

The current explosion of violence came after Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

The rival generals rose to power in the tumultuous aftermath of popular uprisings that led to the ouster of Sudan’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019. Two years later, they joined forces to seize power in a coup that ousted the civilian leaders.

Both the military and RSF have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of atrocities in crushing a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Many Sudanese fear that despite the generals’ repeated promises, the violence will only escalate as tens of thousands of foreign citizens try to leave.

“We are sure both sides of fighting are more careful about foreign lives than the lives of Sudanese citizens,” Atiya said.

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Sudan army says it will help foreigners escape the fighting

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The Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate foreign citizens and diplomats from Sudan on military aircraft, as the bloody fighting that has engulfed the vast African nation entered its second week.

Army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan said he would facilitate the evacuation of American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan after speaking with the leaders of several countries that had requested help. The prospect has vexed officials as most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital, Khartoum, has proven intensely dangerous.

Burhan “agreed to provide the necessary assistance to secure such evacuations for various countries,” Sudan’s military said.

Mass rescues of foreign citizens

Questions have swirled over how the mass rescues of foreign citizens would unfold, with Sudan’s main international airport closed and millions of people sheltering indoors. As battles between the Sudanese army led by Burhan and a rival powerful paramilitary group rage in and around Khartoum, including in residential areas, foreign countries have struggled to repatriate their citizens — many trapped in their homes as food supplies dwindle.

The White House would not confirm the Sudanese military’s announcement. “We have made very clear to both sides that they are responsible for ensuring the protection of civilians and noncombatants,” the National Security Council said. On Friday, the U.S. said it had no plans for a government-coordinated evacuation of the estimated 16,000 American citizens trapped in Sudan.

Saudi Arabia announced the successful repatriation of some of its citizens on Saturday, sharing footage of Saudi nationals and other foreigners welcomed with chocolate and flowers as they stepped off an apparent evacuation ship at the Saudi port of Jeddah.

Officials did not elaborate on exactly how the rescue unfolded but Burhan said the Saudi diplomats and nationals had first travelled by land to Port Sudan, the country’s main seaport on the Red Sea. He said that Jordan’s diplomats would soon be evacuated in the same way. The port is in Sudan’s far east, some 840 kilometres (520 miles) from Khartoum.

In a security alert, the U.S. Embassy in Sudan said it had “incomplete information about significant convoys departing Khartoum travelling towards Port Sudan” and that the situation remained dangerous. “Travelling in any convoy is at your own risk,” it said.

With the U.S. focused on evacuating diplomats first, the Pentagon said it was moving additional troops and equipment to a Naval base in the tiny Gulf of Aden nation of Djibouti to prepare for the effort.

Burhan told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya satellite channel on Saturday that flights in and out of Khartoum remained risky because of the ongoing clashes. He claimed that the military had regained control over all the other airports in the country, except for one in the southwestern city of Nyala.

“We share the international community’s concern about foreign nationals,” he said, promising Sudan would provide “necessary airports and safe passageways” for foreigners trapped in the fighting, without elaborating.

Even as the warring sides said Friday they’d agreed to a cease-fire for the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, explosions and gunfire rang out across Khartoum on Saturday. Two cease-fire attempts earlier this week also rapidly collapsed. The turmoil has dealt a perhaps fatal blow to hopes for the country’s transition to a civilian-led democracy and raised concerns the chaos could draw in its neighbours, including Chad, Egypt and Libya.

Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, chief of the paramilitary group fighting the army, known as the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, claimed he would work toward “opening humanitarian corridors, to facilitate the movement of citizens and enable all countries to evacuate their nationals to safe places.”

We are committed to a complete cease-fire,” he told French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

But those on the ground painted a different picture Friday.

“The war has been continuous since day one. It has not stopped for one moment,” said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, which monitors casualties. The clashes have killed over 400 people so far, according to the World Health Organization. The bombardments, gun battles and sniper fire in densely populated areas have hit civilian infrastructure, including many hospitals.

The international airport near the centre of the capital has come under heavy shelling as the paramilitary group, RSF, has tried to take control of the compound. In an apparent effort to oust the RSF fighters, the Sudanese army has pounded the airport with airstrikes, gutting at least one runway and leaving wrecked planes scattered on the tarmac. The full extent of damage at the airfield remains unclear.

The conflict has opened a dangerous new chapter in Sudan’s history, thrusting the country into uncertainty.

“No one can predict when and how this war will end,” Burhan told Al-Hadath. “I am currently in the command centre and will only leave it in a coffin.”

The current explosion of violence came after Burhan and Dagalo fell out over a recent internationally brokered deal with democracy activists that was meant to incorporate the RSF into the military and eventually lead to civilian rule.

The rival generals rose to power in the tumultuous aftermath of popular uprisings that led to the ouster of Sudan’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, in 2019. Two years later, they joined forces to seize power in a coup that ousted the civilian leaders.

Both the military and RSF have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of atrocities in crushing a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Many Sudanese fear that despite the generals’ repeated promises, the violence will only escalate as tens of thousands of foreign citizens try to leave.

“We are sure both sides of fighting are more careful about foreign lives than the lives of Sudanese citizens,” Atiya said.

Other countries are believed to be making contingency plans to rescue thier citizens from Sudan. A Japanese transport plane left Japan on Friday, April 21. It will be on standby in Djibouti, ready to rescue citizens stranded in Sudan.

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Sudan’s military rules out negotiations with rival paramilitary force

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Sudan’s military ruled out negotiations with a rival paramilitary force on Thursday, saying it would only accept its surrender as the two sides continued to battle in central Khartoum and other parts of the country, threatening to wreck international attempts to broker a longer cease-fire.

A tenuous 24-hour cease-fire that began the previous day ran out Thursday evening with no word of extension. The military‘s statement raised the likelihood of a renewed surge in the nearly week-long violence that has killed hundreds and pushed Sudan‘s population to the breaking point. Alarm has grown that the country’s medical system was on the verge of collapse, with many hospitals forced to shut down and others running out of supplies.

The expiring truce had failed to put a stop to fighting throughout the day and brought only marginal calm to some parts of the capital Khartoum. But many residents took advantage to flee the homes where they have been trapped for days. “Massive numbers” of people, mostly women and children, were leaving in search of safer areas, said Atiya Abdulla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate.

>> Read more : In Khartoum, corpses litter the streets: ‘The fighting keeps residents from burying them

Thursday afternoon, the military said in a statement that it would not negotiate with its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, over an end to the crisis and would only discuss terms of its surrender. “There would be no armed forces outside (of) the military system,” it said.

The demise of the truce, the second attempt this week, underscored the failure of the United States, U.N., European Union and regional powers to push Sudan’s top generals to halt their campaigns to seize control of the country. Instead, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo have each appeared determined to win outright military victory over the other.

In a sign they expect violence to escalate, the U.S. and other countries were making preparations to evacuate their citizens in Sudan — a difficult prospect since most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of Khartoum to safer areas is dangerous.

The U.S. military is moving assets to a base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti for a possible evacuation of American Embassy personnel, administration officials said. Japan plans to send military planes to Djibouti, and the Netherlands has dispatched its own to Jordan.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for the combatants to commit to a three-day cease-fire to coincide with the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, beginning Friday, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. “We are living a very important moment in the Muslim calendar. I think this is the right moment for a cease-fire to hold,” he told reporters.

But so far direct communications to the rival generals by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the Turkish president and others over the past days have been unable to secure even 24 hours of calm, much less a longer truce aimed at leading to negotiations to resolve the crisis. Each side’s main regional allies, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, have called in vain for talks.

At least 330 people have been killed and 3,300 wounded in the fighting since it began Saturday, the U.N.’s World Health Organization said, but the toll is likely higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

Through the day Thursday, gunfire could be heard constantly across Khartoum. Residents reported the heaviest fighting around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum. Military warplanes struck RSF positions at the airport and in the neighboring city of Omdurman, residents said. The military said its warplanes Thursday also struck a convoy of RSF vehicles heading to the capital, though the claim could not be independently confirmed.

Khartoum residents have been desperate for a respite after days of being trapped in their homes, their food and water running out. Aid groups have been unable to deliver help to Sudan’s overwhelmed hospitals, Atiya said. Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water. Around 70% of hospitals near the clash sites throughout the country are out of service, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said Thursday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

“We are worried that Sudan’s healthcare system could completely collapse,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said.

Airstrikes on Thursday afternoon hit medical facilities in Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan province southwest of Khartoum, killing at least 26 civilians and 17 policemen, the Doctors’ Syndicate said. Clashes have intensified in the city, driving more than 3,300 people from their homes, many o them crowding in a school and a sports facility, it said.

The fighting has been disastrous for a country where the United Nations says around a third of the population — some 16 million people — are in need of humanitarian aid. The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF warned that critical care has been disrupted for 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children, who need round-the-clock treatment.

Save the Children said power outages across the country have destroyed cold chain storage facilities for lifesaving vaccines, as well as the national stock of insulin and several antibiotics. Millions of children, the aid group said, are now at risk of disease and further health complications. It said 12% of the country’s 22 million children are suffering from malnutrition and are vulnerable to other diseases.

The Egyptian and Sudanese militaries said that Egypt succeeded in repatriating dozens of its military personnel who had been detained by the RSF when it attacked Merowe airport, north of the capital, early in the fighting. Egypt said its personnel were there for training and joint exercises.

The conflict has once again derailed Sudan’s attempt to establish democratic rule since a popular uprising helped oust helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir four years ago. Burhan and Dagalo jointly carried out a coup purging civilians from a transitional government in 2021.

The explosion of violence came after weeks of growing tensions between the two generals over new international attempts to press a return to civilian government.

Both sides have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

The conflict has raised fears of a spillover from the strategically located nation to its African neighbors.

Sudan’s fighting has also caused up to 20,000 Sudanese to seek refuge in eastern Chad, the U.N. said Thursday. At least 320 Sudanese soldiers fled to Chad, where they were disarmed, said Daoud Yaya Brahim, Chad’s defense minister. The troops were apparently fleeing from Darfur, where the RSF is the most powerful armed force.

“Chad is for the moment trying to remain neutral … (but) Chad will be forced to pick sides if Sudan continues its descent into civil war,” said Benjamin Hunger, Africa analyst for Verisk Maplecroft, a risk assessment firm.

(AP)

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Sudanese military rules out negotiations with rival force

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Sudan’s military has ruled out any negotiations with the rival paramilitary forces to end the crisis roiling the country and says it will only accept their surrender.

Also Read: No respite in Sudan as truce falls apart, rivals battle

A statement from the military on April 20 said that engaging in talks with the paramilitary Rapid Support Force would only be possible to discuss their surrender.

“There would be no armed forces outside the military military system,” it said.

The statement came as the latest attempt at a 24-hour cease-fire between Sudan’s warring forces grew increasingly strained. The two sides have been battling since April 15 for control of the strategic African country.

Fighters from Sudan’s rival factions battled around the main military installation in central Khartoum and other parts of the country’s capital on April 20, threatening to unravel the latest attempt at a cease-fire as foreign governments looked for ways to extract their citizens trapped in the conflict.

A destroyed military vehicle is seen in southern in Khartoum, Sudan on April 20, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

With some parts of the Sudanese capital relatively calmer than previous days, the exodus of residents in Khartoum from their homes appeared to accelerate. “Massive numbers” of people, mostly women and children, were leaving in search of safer areas, said Atiya Abdulla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate.

The 24-hour cease-fire, which came into effect on April 19 evening, is the most significant attempt yet to halt violence between the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The rivals’ fight for control of Sudan has turned the densely populated Khartoum, its neighbouring city of Omdurman and other parts of the country into war zones, with millions of Sudanese caught in between.

Khartoum residents have been desperate for a respite after days of being trapped in their homes, their food and water running out. But whatever tenuous quiet has been brought to some areas by the truce risks quickly falling apart.

Also Read: Sudan capital hit by blasts as deadly conflict enters fourth day

“Sounds of gunfire and air bombing are still heard,” Atiya told The Associated Press said. “It is escalating, and the situation is deteriorating rapidly.”

At least 330 people have been killed and 3,300 wounded in the fighting since it began on April 15, the U.N.’s World Health Organization said, but the toll is likely higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

A previous truce attempt on April 18 collapsed as soon as it began, and the two antagonists in the fight — Army Chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo — have seemed determined to crush each other in their struggle for power.

Diplomatic efforts were underway to try to shore up and extend the cease-fire.

Destroyed military vehicles are seen in southern in Khartoum, Sudan on April 20, 2023.

Destroyed military vehicles are seen in southern in Khartoum, Sudan on April 20, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, spoke by phone on April 20 and discussed efforts to stop the fighting and return to negotiations, Egypt’s presidency said. Egypt is allied to Sudan’s military, while the U.A.E. is close to the Rapid Support Forces.

The truce has not been firm enough to deliver supplies and relief to Sudan’s overwhelmed hospitals, Atiya said. Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water. Around 70% of hospitals near the clash sites throughout the country are out of service, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said April 20. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

Editorial | Sudan’s tragedy: on the power struggle between two generals 

“We are worried that Sudan’s healthcare system could completely collapse. Hospitals need additional staff, they need additional supplies, and they need additional blood supplies,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general, said in a briefing on April 19.

The fighting has been disastrous for a country where the United Nations says around a third of the population — some 16 million people — are in need of humanitarian aid. The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF warned that critical care has been disrupted for 50,000 severely acutely malnourished children, who need round-the-clock treatment.

Save the Children said power outages across the country have destroyed cold chain storage facilities for lifesaving vaccines, as well as the national stock of insulin and several antibiotics. Millions of children, the aid group said, are now at risk of disease and further health complications. It said 12% of the country’s 22 million children are suffering from malnutrition and are vulnerable to other diseases.

Through the night and into April 20 morning, gunfire could be heard almost constantly across Khartoum. Residents reported the heaviest fighting around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum and at the nearby airport. Military warplanes struck RSF positions at the airport and in Omdurman, residents said.

The Egyptian and Sudanese militaries said that Egypt succeeded in repatriating dozens of its military personnel who had been detained by the RSF when it attacked Merowe airport, north of the capital, early in the fighting. Egypt said its personnel were there for training and joint exercises.

Foreign governments as well geared up to evacuate their citizens from Sudan. But with airports in Khartoum and other cities turned into battlegrounds, it remained uncertain how they would do so.

Japan’s Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada on April 20 ordered military aircraft sent to the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti to stand by for an evacuation of around 60 Japanese nationals, though it was not clear when one would take place. The Netherlands sent military transport craft to the Jordanian port city of Aqaba late on April 19 to be ready as well, though the Dutch Defence Ministry acknowledged that “evacuations are not possible at the moment.”

The conflict has once again derailed Sudan’s attempt to establish democratic rule since a popular uprising helped oust helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir four years ago. Mr. Burhan and Mr. Dagalo jointly carried out a coup purging civilians from a transitional government in 2021.

The explosion of violence came after weeks of growing tensions between the two generals over new international attempts to press a return to civilian government.

Both sides have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

The conflict has raised fears of a spillover from the strategically located nation to its African neighbours.

Sudan’s fighting has also caused up to 20,000 Sudanese to seek refuge in eastern Chad, the U.N. said on April 20. At least 320 Sudanese soldiers fled to Chad, where they were disarmed, said Daoud Yaya Brahim, Chad’s Defence Minister. The troops were apparently fleeing from Darfur, where the RSF is the most powerful armed force.

“Chad is for the moment trying to remain neutral … (but) Chad will be forced to pick sides if Sudan continues its descent into civil war,” said Benjamin Hunger, Africa analyst for Verisk Maplecroft, a risk assessment firm.

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Temporary ceasefire allows some citizens to flee Sudan’s capital city

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Sudan’s rival generals on Wednesday made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire after a failed truce the night before. But sporadic fighting continued, and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat.

Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the country’s top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and airstrikes since Saturday.

The fighting became less intense in the first hours after the cease-fire took effect at 6 p.m., with sporadic clashes continuing in the city centre, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate, who is still in the capital. But he said neither side has provided guarantees to his group to facilitate movement of health care workers and ambulances.

Desperate residents of the capital have been running out of food and other supplies as they sheltered in their homes from the gun battles on the streets outside. Hospitals have been damaged and forced to close or have been overwhelmed by wounded, with staff exhausted and medical supplies depleted. Increasingly, armed fighters have turned to looting shops and robbing anyone who dares step outside.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the UN health agency said, but the toll is likely higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

“The scene was heinous”

In the tense hours after Wednesday’s cease-fire, Abdalla al-Tayeb joined other residents in collecting bodies near the main military headquarters, the scene of intense fighting. “All of them nearly rotted, causing a foul smell that reached our homes,” he said. “The scene was heinous.”

After the failure of Tuesday evening’s truce attempt, hundreds gave up on trying to hold out for calm and fled their homes throughout the day, even as explosions and gunfire shook Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman. Residents of multiple neighbourhoods told The Associated Press they could see men, women and children leaving with luggage, some on foot, others crowding into vehicles.

On Wednesday evening, the army and its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, separately announced that a new 24-hour truce had begun.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for both sides to adhere to the truce, “renounce violence and return to negotiations.” She said the army and the RSF “are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and non combatants.”

Power struggle

Until now, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo — former allies against Sudan’s pro-democracy movement — have seemed determined to crush each other in their struggle for power.

Tuesday’s cease-fire attempt failed even after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to each general by phone and after pressure from their regional allies. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have been calling on all sides to stand down.

Throughout the day Wednesday, the two sides battled around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture, and the nearby airport. Residents said the military was pounding RSF positions with airstrikes.

The army’s monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days. But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force have fanned out across the city.

Residents say armed men, mostly in RSF uniforms, have raided homes, offices and shops in neighbourhoods across Khartoum.

“They roam in small groups from house to house, from shop to shop and loot everything,” said a resident of the upscale neighbourhood of Kafouri in northern Khartoum. “They storm your house and take all valuable things at gunpoint.”

The resident said many families began to take up arms to defend their properties. He and his brother guard their home at night, he said. “You don’t have another option.”

Another resident, in the Arab Market area, said men in RSF uniforms broke into mobile phone shops and took anything they could carry. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.

Janjaweed militias

Both sides in the conflict have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan’s western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Darfur has also seen heavy clashes in the past five days. The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said armed men raided its compound in Nyala in Darfur, stealing vehicles and office equipment and looting a warehouse storing medical supplies. The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Nyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Abdalla Hussein, the program manager for MSF, welcomed the truce but said 24 hours “is not enough” for sustained relief operations, particularly in remote areas.

Foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, have also been trapped by the fighting,

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum but turned around Wednesday due to security concerns. The Dutch government said it was sending a Hercules C-130 and an A330 to Jordan to be on standby but that “evacuations are not possible at the moment.” Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan, without providing details. The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. Separately, gunmen broke into the EU ambassador’s residence and assaulted him this week, but a spokeswoman said he is back at work.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement. Dozens of health care facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

174 civilians killed

The UN’s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors’ Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudan’s transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. But Burhan and Dagalo jointly carried out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.

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Death toll mounts as fighting in Sudan rages on

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As explosions and gunfire thundered throughout Sudan for a fourth day of urban warfare between the army and a powerful rival force, a US Embassy convoy came under fire. The attack was vividly criticised by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as “indiscriminate military operations.”

Despite clear embassy markings on the vehicles, the convoy was attacked on Monday and preliminary reports link the assailants to the Rapid Support Forces – a paramilitary group battling Sudan’s military.

While Blinken said everyone in the convoy was safe, the Sudanese military said the attack took place in Sudan’s Darfur region.

The convoy attack, along with earlier assaults on aid workers and the EU envoy’s residence in the capital of Khartoum, signalled further descent into chaos since the battle by two rival generals for control of Africa’s third-largest country erupted over the weekend.

Rising death toll

At least 185 people have been killed and over 1,800 wounded since the fighting erupted, UN envoy Volker Perthes told reporters. The two sides use tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons in densely populated areas. Fighter jets swooped overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies as darkness fell.

The toll could be much higher because there are many bodies in the streets around central Khartoum that no one can reach because of the clashes. There has been no official word on how many civilians or combatants have been killed. A doctors’ group earlier put the number of civilian deaths at 97.

The sudden outbreak of violence over the weekend between the nation’s two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they could find shelter, with supplies running low and several hospitals forced to shut down.

Top diplomats on four continents scrambled to broker a truce, and the UN Security Council was set to discuss the crisis.

“Gunfire and shelling are everywhere,” Awadeya Mahmoud Koko, head of a union for thousands of tea vendors and other food workers, said from her home in a southern district of Khartoum.

She said a shell stuck a neighbour’s house Sunday, killing at least three people. “We couldn’t take them to a hospital or bury them.”

In central Khartoum, sustained gunfire erupted and white smoke rose near the main military headquarters, a major battlefront. Nearby, at least 88 students and staffers have been trapped in the engineering college library at Khartoum University since the start of fighting, one of the students said in a video posted online Monday. One student was killed during clashes outside and another wounded, he said. They do not have food or water, he said, showing a room full of people sleeping on the floor.

Power struggle

Even in a country with a long history of military coups, the scenes of fighting in the capital and its adjoining city Omdurman across the Nile River were unprecedented. The turmoil comes just days before Sudanese were to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.

The power struggle pits Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The former allies jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup. The violence has raised the spectre of civil war just as Sudanese were trying to revive the drive for a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo had recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups, but the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.

International calls for ceasefire

The US, the UN and others have called for a truce. Egypt, which backs Sudan’s military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which forged close ties to the RSF as it sent thousands of fighters to support their war in Yemen — have also called for both sides to stand down.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is attending a Group of Seven meeting in Japan, spoke by phone with Burhan and Dagalo separately and underscored the urgency of reaching a cease-fire, according to the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel.

On Tuesday, Blinken told reporters in Japan that indiscriminate military operations are “recklessly endangering civilians, diplomats, including US personnel, and humanitarian personnel.”

Blinken said a convoy of clearly marked US Embassy vehicles came under fire Monday, and that preliminary reports indicate the attackers were linked to the RSF. He said everyone in the convoy is safe and at home.

Blinken called for an immediate 24-hour ceasefire as a step toward a longer truce.

In a joint statement Tuesday, the G-7 foreign ministers condemned the fighting. “We urge the parties to end hostilities immediately without pre-conditions,” it said, calling for them to return to negotiations and reduce tensions.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said late Monday that Cairo was in “constant contact” with both the army and the RSF, urging them to halt the fighting and return to negotiations.

But both generals have thus far dug in, demanding the other’s surrender.

EU ambassador assaulted

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell tweeted that the EU ambassador to Sudan “was assaulted in his own residency,” without providing further details. EU officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Dagalo, whose forces grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s Darfur region, has portrayed himself as a defender of democracy and branded Burhan as the aggressor and a “radical Islamist.” Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Heavy gunbattles raged in multiple parts of the capital and Omdurman, where the two sides have brought in tens of thousands of troops, positioning them in nearly every neighbourhood.

Twelve hospitals in the capital area have been “forcefully evacuated” and are “out of service” because of attacks or power outages, the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate said, out of a total of around 20. Four hospitals outside the capital have also shut down, it added in a statement late Monday.

Hadia Saeed said she and her three children were sheltering in one room on the ground floor of their home for fear of the shelling as gunfire rattled across their Bahri district in north Khartoum. They have food for a few more days, but “after that, we don’t know what to do,” she said.

Residents said fierce fighting with artillery and other heavy weapons raged Monday afternoon in the Gabra neighbourhood southwest of Khartoum. People were trapped and screaming inside their homes, said Asmaa al-Toum, a physician living in the area.

Fighting has been particularly fierce around each side’s main bases and at strategic government buildings — all of which are in residential areas.

The military on Monday claimed to have secured the main television building in Omdurman, fending off the RSF after days of fighting. State-run Sudan TV resumed broadcasting.

On Sunday, the RSF said it abandoned its main barracks and base, in Omdurman, which the armed forces had pounded with airstrikes. Online videos Monday purported to show the bodies of dozens of men said to be RSF fighters at the base, strewn over beds, the floor of a clinic and outside in a yard. The authenticity of the videos could not be confirmed independently.

The military and RSF were also fighting in most major centres around the country, including in the western Darfur region and parts of the north and the east, by the borders with Egypt and Ethiopia. Battles raged Monday around a strategic airbase in Merowe, some 350 kilometres northwest of the capital, with both sides claiming control of the facility.

Hopes for democracy dashed

Only four years ago, Sudan inspired hope after a popular uprising helped depose long-time autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.

But the turmoil since, especially the 2021 coup, has frustrated the democracy drive and wrecked the economy. A third of the population — around 16 million people — now depends on humanitarian assistance in the resource-rich nation, Africa’s third largest.

Save the Children, an international charity, said it has temporarily suspended most of its operations across Sudan. It said looters raided its offices in Darfur, stealing medical supplies, laptops, vehicles and a refrigerator. The World Food Program suspended operations over the weekend after three employees were killed in Darfur, and the International Rescue Committee has also halted most operations.

With the US, European Union, African and Arab nations all calling for an end to fighting, the UN Security Council was to discuss the developments. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was consulting with the Arab League, African Union and leaders in the region, urging anyone with influence to press for peace.

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Sudan’s Generals battle for third day; death toll soars to 185

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As explosions and gunfire thundered outside, Sudanese in the capital Khartoum and other cities huddled in their homes for a third day on April 17, while the Army and a powerful rival force battled in the streets for control of the country.

At least 185 people have been killed and over 1,800 wounded since the fighting erupted, U.N. envoy Volker Perthes told reporters. The two sides are using tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons in densely populated areas. Fighter jets swooped overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies as darkness fell.

Editorial | Sudan’s tragedy: on the power struggle between two generals 

The toll could be much higher because there are many bodies in the streets around central Khartoum that no one can reach because of the clashes. There has been no official word on how many civilians or combatants have been killed. The doctors’ syndicate earlier put the number of civilian deaths at 97.

The sudden outbreak of violence over the weekend between the nation’s two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they could find shelter, with supplies running low and several hospitals forced to shut down.

Top diplomats on four continents scrambled to broker a truce, and the U.N. Security Council was set to discuss the crisis.

“Gunfire and shelling are everywhere,” Awadeya Mahmoud Koko, head of a union for thousands of tea vendors and other food workers, said from her home in a southern district of Khartoum.

She said a shell stuck a neighbor’s house Sunday, killing at least three people. “We couldn’t take them to a hospital or bury them.”

In central Khartoum, sustained gunfire erupted and white smoke rose near the main military headquarters, a major battle front. Nearby, at least 88 students and staffers have been trapped in the engineering college library at Khartoum University since the start of fighting, one of the students said in a video posted online Monday. One student was killed during clashes outside and another wounded, he said. They do not have food or water, he said, showing a room full of people sleeping on the floor.

Even in a country with a long history of military coups, the scenes of fighting in the capital and its adjoining city Omdurman across the Nile River were unprecedented. The turmoil comes just days before Sudanese were to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.

The power struggle pits Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The former allies jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup. The violence has raised the specter of civil war just as Sudanese were trying to revive the drive for a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo had recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups, but the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.

The U.S., the U.N. and others have called for a truce. Egypt, which backs Sudan’s military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which forged close ties to the RSF in recent years as it sent thousands of fighters to support their war in Yemen — have also called for both sides to stand down.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said late Monday that Cairo was in “constant contact” with both the army and the RSF, urging them to halt the fighting and return to negotiations.

But both generals have thus far dug in, demanding the other’s surrender.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell tweeted that the EU ambassador to Sudan “was assaulted in his own residency,” without providing further details. EU officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Dagalo, whose forces grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s Darfur region, has portrayed himself as a defender of democracy and branded Burhan as the aggressor and a “radical Islamist.” Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Heavy gunbattles raged in multiple parts of the capital and Omdurman, where the two sides have brought in tens of thousands of troops, positioning them in nearly every neighborhood.

Twelve hospitals in the capital area have been “forcefully evacuated” and are “out of service” because of attacks or power outages, the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate said, out of a total of around 20 hospitals. Four other hospitals outside the capital have also shut down, it added in a statement late Monday.

Hadia Saeed said she and her three children were sheltering in one room on the ground floor of their home for fear of the shelling as gunfire rattled across their Bahri district in north Khartoum. They have food for a few more days, but “after that we don’t know what to do,” she said.

Residents said fierce fighting with artillery and other heavy weapons raged Monday afternoon in the Gabra neighborhood southwest of Khartoum. People were trapped and screaming inside their homes, said Asmaa al-Toum, a physician living in the area.

Fighting has been particularly fierce around each side’s main bases and at strategic government buildings — all of which are in residential areas.

The military on Monday claimed to have secured the main television building in Omdurman, fending off the RSF after days of fighting. State-run Sudan TV resumed broadcasting.

On Sunday, the RSF said it abandoned its main barracks and base, in Omdurman, which the armed forces had pounded with airstrikes. Online videos Monday purported to show the bodies of dozens of men said to be RSF fighters at the base, strewn over beds, the floor of a clinic and outside in a yard. The authenticity of the videos could not be confirmed independently.

The military and RSF were also fighting in most major centers around the country, including in the western Darfur region and parts of the north and the east, by the borders with Egypt and Ethiopia. Battles raged Monday around a strategic airbase in Merowe, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of the capital, with both sides claiming control of the facility.

Only four years ago, Sudan inspired hope after a popular uprising helped depose long-time autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.

But the turmoil since, especially the 2021 coup, has frustrated the democracy drive and wrecked the economy. A third of the population — around 16 million people — now depends on humanitarian assistance in the resource-rich nation, Africa’s third largest.

Save the Children, an international charity, said it has temporarily suspended most of its operations across Sudan. It said looters raided its offices in Darfur, stealing medical supplies, laptops, vehicles and a refrigerator. The World Food Program suspended operations over the weekend after three employees were killed in Darfur, and the International Rescue Committee has also halted most operations.

With the U.S., European Union, African and Arab nations all calling for an end to fighting, the U.N. Security Council was to discuss the developments in Sudan. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was consulting with the Arab League, African Union and leaders in the region, urging anyone with influence to press for peace.

At a meeting of the Group of Seven wealthy nations in Japan on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Sudanese “want the military back in the barracks. They want democracy. They want the civilian-led government, Sudan needs to return to that path.”

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Death toll from Sudan fighting tops 180 as clashes in Khartoum enter third day

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As explosions and gunfire thundered outside, Sudanese in the capital Khartoum and other cities huddled in their homes for a third day Monday, while the army and a powerful rival force battled in the streets for control of the country.  

At least 185 people have been killed and over 1,800 wounded since the fighting erupted, UN envoy Volker Perthes told reporters. The two sides are using tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons in densely populated areas. Fighter jets swooped overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies as darkness fell.

The toll could be much higher because there are many bodies in the streets around central Khartoum that no one can reach because of the clashes. There has been no official word on how many civilians or combatants have been killed. The doctors’ syndicate earlier put the number of civilian deaths at 97.

The sudden outbreak of violence over the weekend between the nation’s two top generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they could find shelter, with supplies running low in many areas. 

Top diplomats on four continents scrambled to broker a truce, and the UN Security Council was set to discuss the crisis.

“Gunfire and shelling are everywhere,” Awadeya Mahmoud Koko, head of a union for thousands of tea vendors and other food workers, said from her home in a southern district of Khartoum.

She said a shell stuck a neighbour’s house Sunday, killing at least three people. “We couldn’t take them to a hospital or bury them.”

In central Khartoum, sustained gunfire erupted and white smoke rose near the main military headquarters, a major battle front.

Nearby, at least 88 students and staffers have been trapped in the engineering college library at Khartoum University since the start of fighting, one of the students said in a video posted online Monday.

One student was killed during clashes outside and another wounded, he said. They do not have food or water, he said, showing a room full of people sleeping on the floor. 

Even in a country with a long history of military coups, the scenes of fighting in the capital and its adjoining city Omdurman across the Nile River were unprecedented. The turmoil comes just days before Sudanese were to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting.

The power struggle pits Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The former allies jointly orchestrated an October 2021 military coup. The violence has raised the specter of civil war just as Sudanese were trying to revive the drive for a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo had recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups, but the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.

The US, the UN and others have called for a truce. Egypt, which backs Sudan’s military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — which forged close ties to the RSF in recent years as it sent thousands of fighters to support their war in Yemen — have also called for both sides to stand down. 

But both generals have thus far dug in, demanding the other’s surrender and ruling out negotiations. 

Dagalo, whose forces grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s Darfur region, has portrayed himself as a defender of democracy and branded Burhan as the aggressor and a “radical Islamist.” Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Heavy gunbattles raged in multiple parts of the capital and Omdurman, where the two sides have brought in tens of thousands of troops, positioning them in nearly every neighbourhood. At least six hospitals in Khartoum were shut down because of damage from fighting, nearby clashes or because they ran low on fuel, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate.

Hadia Saeed said she and her three children were sheltering in one room on the ground floor of their home for fear of the shelling as gunfire rattled across their Bahri district in north Khartoum. They have food for a few more days, but “after that we don’t know what to do,” she said. 

Residents said fierce fighting with artillery and other heavy weapons raged Monday afternoon in the Gabra neighbourhood southwest of Khartoum. People were trapped and screaming inside their homes, said Asmaa al-Toum, a physician living in the area.

Fighting has been particularly fierce around each side’s main bases and at strategic government buildings — all of which are in residential areas.

The military on Monday claimed to have secured the main television building in Omdurman, fending off the RSF after days of fighting. State-run Sudan TV resumed broadcasting. 

On Sunday, the RSF said it abandoned its main barracks and base, in Omdurman, which the armed forces had pounded with airstrikes. Online videos Monday purported to show the bodies of dozens of men said to be RSF fighters at the base, strewn over beds, the floor of a clinic and outside in a yard. The authenticity of the videos could not be confirmed independently.

The military and RSF were also fighting in most major centers around the country, including in the western Darfur region and parts of the north and the east, by the borders with Egypt and Ethiopia. Battles raged Monday around a strategic airbase in Merowe, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) northwest of the capital, with both sides claiming control of the facility.

Only four years ago, Sudan inspired hope after a popular uprising helped depose long-time autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir. 

But the turmoil since, especially the 2021 coup, has frustrated the democracy drive and wrecked the economy. A third of the population — around 16 million people — now depends on humanitarian assistance in the resource-rich nation, Africa’s third largest.

Save the Children, an international charity, said it has temporarily suspended most of its operations across Sudan. It said looters raided its offices in Darfur, stealing medical supplies, laptops, vehicles and a refrigerator.

The World Food Program suspended operations over the weekend after three employees were killed in Darfur, and the International Rescue Committee has also halted most operations.

With the US, European Union, African and Arab nations all calling for an end to fighting, the UN Security Council was to discuss the developments in Sudan later Monday. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was consulting with the Arab League, African Union and leaders in the region, urging anyone with influence to press for peace. 

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed the violence in separate phone calls with his Saudi and French counterparts, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

At a meeting of the Group of Seven wealthy nations in Japan on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Sudanese “want the military back in the barracks. They want democracy. They want the civilian-led government, Sudan needs to return to that path.”

(AP)

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