Deadly fighting and an imminent humanitarian disaster… Sudan cries for help amid escalation and floods
Residents of the Sudanese capital said that fighting raged in several areas of Khartoum after the end of the ceasefire agreement, with activists saying that fresh violence in North Darfur State left at least 40 people dead.
The ceasefire between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began on 22 May and ended on Saturday evening.
Heavy bombing
According to the Guardian, a temporary truce brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US has brought little respite in the fighting and allowed limited access to humanitarian aid, but like an earlier one, it was repeatedly breached and talks on extending it stalled on Friday.
“Sudan’s bloody power struggle, which broke out on 15 April, has caused a major humanitarian crisis in which more than 1.2 million people have been displaced inside the country and 400,000 others have been forced to flee to neighboring countries, she said, adding that live footage on Sunday showed black smoke rising over the capital.”
“In the south of Khartoum we live in fear of heavy shelling, the sound of anti-aircraft guns and power outages, we are in a real hell”, Hassan said by telephone.
Other areas where fighting has been reported include central and southern Khartoum, and further north, across the Blue Nile to the north.
Eyewitnesses said that a military plane crashed in Omdurman, one of the three cities around the confluence of the Nile that forms the greater capital area, and there was no comment from the army, which used warplanes to target the rapid support fighters deployed around the capital.
Fatal fight
Outside Khartoum, deadly fighting has also erupted in Darfur, in the far west of Sudan, which is already grappling with long-lasting unrest and huge humanitarian challenges, the British newspaper reported.
Heavy fighting on Friday and Saturday created chaos in Kutum, a key town and commercial center in North Darfur, witnesses said.
The Darfur Bar Association, which monitors rights in the area, said at least 40 people were killed and dozens injured, including residents of the Kassab camp, which had been sheltering people displaced by previous unrest.
Fighting in the capital has led to widespread damage and looting, dwindling food supplies, and the collapse of health services, energy and water facilities.
The rains could complicate relief efforts already hampered by bureaucratic delays and logistical challenges, the British paper noted. Aid workers have warned of bodies being left in the streets and increasing garbage accumulation.
