Alghadeer TV Alghadeer TV
Fierce fighting has broken out again in violence-wracked Sudan with gunfire heard in the capital despite an extension of a ceasefire between rival military forces.
The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in battles since April 15, once again violated the latest 72-hour armistice after its announcement on Sunday night, with reports of fighting in Khartoum coming in on Monday.
Millions of Sudanese around the capital have since hidden in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity as warplanes have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns.
“Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at it,” said one resident on Monday, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing “loud gunfire” in the area.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese army said it hoped that the RSF forces that it referred to as the “rebels” would stick to the ceasefire but it believed they had intended to keep up attacks.
The RSF, however, said its forces would hold the ceasefire which it had been agreed to “in response to international, regional, and local calls.”
Till now, the Sudan conflict has left at least 528 people dead and 4,599 wounded, the Health Ministry said. However, the real number of casualties is much higher, according to the United Nations data.
The conflict has also deepened the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, where a third of the people were dependent on some form of humanitarian assistance before the fighting erupted, said Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator at the United Nations.
“The scale and speed of what is unfolding in Sudan is unprecedented. We are extremely concerned by the immediate as well as long-term impact on all people in Sudan and the broader region,” he said.
