came inunderstood (temporarily) between factions in Sudan. The Sudanese army and the paramilitaries have made themselves available for the temporary opening of three to four hours humanitarian corridors requested by the UN but reserves the right to return fire from the enemy side. The announcements were made by both sides on their social channels: «Le Sudanese Armed Forces accept the United Nations proposal to open safe routes for humanitarian cases for a period of three hours from 4 p.m., provided that this does not nullify their right to retaliate against any excesses by rebel militias,” read the published post Facebook from the Office of the Official Spokesman for the Sudanese Armed Forces In the same vein, the announcement from Fast support forces Sudanese, who tweeted that they “accepted the UN request with immediate effect (4 p.m. local time and Italian time) and for four hours,” the RFS tweeted, adding that they “have the right reserved to protect citizens and to respond to any attack by coup plotters and regime militias”. Despite the opening between the disputes in the country, a Khartoum “Shots, artillery fire and loud explosions” can still be heard, according to a witness who is in the capital. “They are shooting everywhere,” the qualified source said in contact with others in the Sudanese city.
Meanwhile, the head of the African Union (AU), Mussa Faki Mahamatannounced that it would go “directly” to the country to urge the factions involved in the clashes to “a ceasefire”: this is a statement adopted today by the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the same AU on the situation in Sudan, announcing its own “mission on the ground”. The PSC “requests – according to the note published on the African Union’s website – the President of the AU Commission to continue to use his good offices to work with the parties to the conflict to promote dialogue and the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan.” to facilitate; and commends his commitment to travel to Sudan immediately to commit the sides to a ceasefire.” And then again: “The Peace and Security Council also resolves that this Council will undertake a field mission to Sudan to meet with all Sudanese stakeholders on the situation in the country”. Among other things, the Council stated that the AU “calls on both sides to honor an immediate unconditional ceasefire, to protect civilians, especially women and children, and to protect civilians, especially women and children, in the highest interests of Sudan and its people provide humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the conflict”.
The second day of clashes
Clashes in the Sudanese capital continue for the second straight day: according to an initial assessment by the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, there have been at least 25 dead and 302 wounded in the capital, a number rising to 56 dead and nearly 600 wounded in the country both among civilians as well as the military. Against the background of the heated clashes, there is the political rivalry that has been going on for months between the two generals at the head of the Sovereign Council that currently runs the country, Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, and the pro-Russian Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo , protagonists of the coup of 2021. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RFS) paramilitaries seek to seize power and oust the army in a showdown consisting of raids, gunfire, airstrikes, armored mobilizations and conflicting announcements in several cities in Sudan.
Today, Sunday, April 16, firefights continue in the northern and southern suburbs of the capital. To stem the violence and figure out how to mediate between the parties, the Arab League will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo at the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia. But the conflict has been going on in various forms for weeks now, preventing a peaceful and political solution in a country that has been trying to organize the first free elections after 30 years of Islamic military dictatorship since 2019. In Cairo, airport sources report the closure of Sudanese airspace. The leader of the paramilitaries also called on al Burhan to surrender: “He is under siege, we have no contact with him, but he must surrender.”
The consequences of the war in Ukraine
In an interview with Qn, Comboni priest Giulio Albanese points to a connection between what is happening in Sudan and the war in Ukraine. “The West wants a transition to democracy, but there are many interests,” he explains. “Hemeti Dagalo is pro-Russian, a close friend of Lavrov’s. Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine he visited Moscow. Lavrov recently returned the tribute. And for some time now the mercenaries of the Wagner group have settled in the country, while earlier military relations were limited to arms supplies».
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