The ongoing deadly fighting in Sudan continued hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have become effective, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire.
Loud gunfire resounded on Tuesday in the background of live feeds by multiple television news channels in the Khartoum capital region minutes after the agreed 6pm (16:00 GMT) onset of the ceasefire.
Just before the resumption of hostilities, the regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued statements accusing each other of failing to respect the ceasefire. The army’s high command said it would continue operations to secure the capital and other regions.
‘We have not received any indications here that there’s been a halt in the fighting,’ United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York.
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Africa Today News, New York reports that the conflict between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy on Sudan’s ruling council broke out four days ago, derailing an internationally backed plan for a transition to a civilian democracy four years after the fall of former leader Omar al-Bashir to mass protests and two years after a military coup.
The fighting has triggered what the UN has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. The organisation’s World Food Programme suspended operations after three of its employees were killed.
At least 185 people have died in the conflict, according to the UN.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Japan, said on Tuesday that he had telephoned the two rival leaders – army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – and had appealed for a ceasefire “to allow the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families” and to provide them with relief.