- Ceasefire agreements fall through Tuesday and Wednesday
- The army headquarters and the airport are the focus of the fighting
- At least 270 dead, 2,600 injured – Ministry
- Both sides say a 24-hour ceasefire has been agreed, unclear if it will hold
- The power struggle has destroyed the transition to democracy
KHARTUM, April 19 (Portal) – A fresh attempt at a ceasefire amid fierce fighting between Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces in Khartoum and elsewhere failed on Wednesday, leaving people fearful of dwindling food supplies and a collapse in medical supplies.
The 24-hour ceasefire was due to come into effect at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). Two eyewitnesses in different areas of the capital told Portal that fighting had continued.
Earlier in the day, in central Khartoum, continuous bombardments could be heard around the army headquarters compound and at the main airport, which has been heavily contested and shut down since fighting erupted over the weekend.
Thick smoke rose into the sky and the streets of the capital were largely empty. Gunfire rang out in the south of the city, a Portal witness said, while the army appeared to be retaking a key military airport in northern Sudan, images released by al Arabiya TV station showed.
The Sudanese military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had said he was operating out of army headquarters in Khartoum. Portal could not determine if he was still there on Wednesday.
“The armed forces are responding to a new attack near the general command,” the army said in a statement.
Residents of the capital, one of Africa’s largest cities, huddled in their homes as power outages hit and worried about how long food supplies would last.
“Today we ran out of essentials,” said architect Hadeel Mohamed, concerned for the safety of her brother, who had gone out to find food.
The conflict stems from a power struggle between military leader Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, over a plan to integrate the paramilitary fighters into the regular military.
Burhan heads a governing council installed after the 2021 military coup and 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir, while Hemedti, who analysts say may command more than 100,000 militants, was his deputy on the council.
The Sudanese Ministry of Health estimates at least 270 people have died and 2,600 have been injured. Nine hospitals were hit by artillery and 16 had to be evacuated, the Sudan Doctors Union said, none of which were operating entirely within the capital.
The conflict has dashed hopes of progress towards democracy in Sudan, risks drawing in its neighbors and could play into regional competition between Russia and the United States. Sudan is strategically located between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile Sahel region.
Chad forces on Monday disarmed 320 Sudanese soldiers who had entered their territory, the defense minister said, adding that Chad did not want to be involved in the conflict.
“Today, thousands of refugees are crossing our border to seek shelter. We have no choice but to welcome and protect them,” Defense Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim said.
[1/2] Smoke billows over buildings during clashes between paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Sudan, April 17, 2023. Portal/Stringer
A Portal reporter said there was a violent exchange of gunfire in the Jabra neighborhood in western Khartoum, where the homes of Hemedti and his family are located. Hemedti’s whereabouts have not been released since fighting began on Saturday.
The RSF said the army used heavy artillery against houses in Jabra, in violation of international law. An RSF call center has been set up to help people in parts of the capital it controls, it said.
The army controls access to Khartoum, a metropolis of around 5.5 million people, and appears to be trying to cut off supply routes for RSF fighters. According to witnesses and local residents, army reinforcements were brought in from near the eastern border with Ethiopia.
Evacuation foiled
Foreign powers have been pushing for a truce to allow evacuations and shipments of supplies, but a truce that was due to begin Tuesday night didn’t hold.
With planes smoldering on the runway at Khartoum International Airport, evacuations looked difficult for the time being.
“There is no way out,” Belgian diver Henri Hemmerechts told Portal news agency in Khartoum. “It’s just awful and honestly there’s nothing we can do at this point.”
The US State Department said there were no plans for a US government-coordinated evacuation. Turkey has also said it cannot evacuate at this time.
Germany on Wednesday halted a mission to fly out about 150 citizens in three Luftwaffe A400M transport planes, Der Spiegel magazine reported, citing unnamed sources.
Asked about the report, the Foreign Office said all options were being considered.
Japan’s top cabinet secretary said authorities planned to use a military self-defense force plane to evacuate about 60 Japanese citizens.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will discuss the situation with heads of the African Union, the Arab League and other relevant organizations on Thursday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“The people of Sudan are running out of food, fuel and other essentials. Many are in urgent need of medical care,” Dujarric said.
Gunmen have targeted hospitals and humanitarian workers, with reports of sexual violence against aid workers, the United Nations said. Most hospitals are out of order and the health organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said gunmen raided a warehouse in the west of the country.
Even before the conflict, around a quarter of Sudan’s population was suffering from acute hunger. The World Food Program halted one of its largest global relief operations in the country on Saturday after three of its employees were killed.
Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum, Nafisa Eltahir; writing by Aidan Lewis; Edited by Frank Jack Daniel
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Nafisa Eltahir