Before dawn, the Sudanese capital was rocked by gunfire and airstrikes between the forces of the two generals vying for power in the country, as it had been since April 15.
“During the night (…) numerous districts in Khartoum were and are being shelled between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces,” the doctors’ union said on Friday.
Soldiers and paramilitaries fought fiercely in the streets in densely populated residential areas in central and north Khartoum on Friday, witnesses told AFP.
The day before, the UN and the United States had requested a ceasefire of “at least” three days to allow civilians to celebrate Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
However, on Thursday, army chief Abdel Fatah al-Burhan ruled out negotiations with his former number two, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (FAR).
They announced “their agreement for a 72-hour ceasefire” at 4:00 GMT on Friday to give a pause to Sudanese caught in the crossfire that has left more than 400 dead and 3,500 injured, according to the World Health Organization .
At the same time, General Burhan made his first appearance on state television since fighting began for an AIDS Festival speech in which he made no mention of a ceasefire.
“Our country is bleeding”
“Our country is bleeding at this year’s aid: Destruction, devastation and the noise of bullets outweigh the joy,” he said.
“We hope that we will come out of this test more united (…), one army, one people,” he said in a military uniform between two Sudanese flags.
“We want the fighting to stop over Eid, but we know that won’t happen,” Abdallah, a resident of the capital, told AFP on Thursday.
In a phone interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday, Burhan said there was no room “for political negotiations” with his rival.
If General Daglo, nicknamed “Hemedti,” does not give up his attempt “to control the country,” he will be “militarily crushed,” he warned.
During the day, Burhan received calls from the UN Secretary-General, the Presidents of South Sudan and Turkey, the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the heads of diplomacy from the US, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
Washington announced it would deploy the military to the region in case they have to evacuate their embassy. Khartoum Airport has been closed since Saturday and embassies are urging their nationals to stay safe.
In the capital, many families are running out of supplies and have neither electricity nor running water. Phone lines only work intermittently. Many try to flee between checkpoints on either side and bodies strewn on the streets.
Many civilians have also fled abroad to escape the violence, which is mainly concentrated in Khartoum and the western Darfur region.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), between 10,000 and 20,000 people, most of them women and children, crossed the border into Chad.
Hospitals out of order
Both sides continue to announce victories and make accusations against each other that cannot be verified on the ground.
According to the doctors, regular aviation does not hesitate to bomb FAR bases scattered in populated areas of Khartoum, even if they are located near hospitals.
According to a doctors’ union, “70% of the 74 hospitals in Khartoum and the areas affected by the fighting were shut down in five days”.
Humanitarian organizations have had to stop their aid, which is essential in a country where more than a third of the population is starving in normal times.
Three World Food Program (WFP) workers died in Darfur. The UN also denounced “looting” of its reserves and “assaults”, including sexual assaults, against its personnel.
In October 2021, the two men led a coup against the civilian government installed after Bashir’s departure, ending a transition supported by the international community.