Extension of the ceasefire in Sudan for five days amidst gunfire
Sudan’s two warring parties agreed on Monday to extend a truce agreement for five days, following renewed doubts about its effectiveness from recent violent clashes and airstrikes in parts of the capital Khartoum.
Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered and monitored the ceasefire for a week, announced they had agreed to extend it shortly before it was due to expire.
The two countries said in a joint statement that despite not fully observing the truce, it has allowed aid to reach an estimated two million people.
“The extension will allow time for more humanitarian aid, restoration of basic services and discussion of a possible longer extension,” the statement said.
Sources familiar with the new agreement said discussions were continuing on amendments to make the truce more effective.
“Hours earlier, residents reported fighting in the cities of Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri.” They said that the intensity of the fighting was more intense than in the past three days.
“A power struggle between the Sudanese military and the RSF erupted on 15 April, leaving hundreds dead and nearly 1.4 million people fleeing their homes.”
Residents said air strikes, which the army uses to target Rapid Support Forces (RSF) deployed in neighborhoods of the capital, could be heard on Monday afternoon.
“Hassan Othman, 55, a resident of Omdurman, said that since Sunday evening there have been strikes using all kinds of weapons between the army and the RSF.” There is a great state of fear among the population, he said. “Where is the truce?””.
“As heavy fighting has paused temporarily in recent days under the truce, sporadic clashes and airstrikes have continued.”
The ISF accused the army of committing a massacre against civilians, condemning in a statement “in the strongest terms the brutal behavior of the coup forces and the remnants of the former extremist regime, who committed on Monday afternoon a massacre by the warplanes of a passenger bus and a number of farms in Shambat, causing the death and injury of a number of innocent citizens, including women and children.
“The ugly massacre perpetrated by the terrorist putschists by the warplanes who bombed civilians today confirms beyond any doubt the level of hatred and hatred that this corrupt tyrant harbors for the Sudanese people,” it said.
The United States and Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that both the military and the RSF had repeatedly violated the truce, obstructing humanitarian access and restoring basic services.
“The Ministry of Health said more than 700 people were killed in the fighting, but the real number is likely to be much higher as health workers and aid workers have limited access to conflict areas.”
“The government separately recorded as many as 510 deaths in El Geneina, one of the main towns in the western Darfur region that has already been suffering from conflict and displacement.”
“Factories, offices, homes and banks in Khartoum have been looted and destroyed.” “The Sudanese capital is frequently hit by power, water and communications cuts, severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment as well as running out of food supplies.”
“Dozens of children have reportedly died in Khartoum’s largest orphanage since the conflict began, with one official attributing the deaths mainly to a lack of care workers and frequent power cuts caused by the fighting.”
The UN and aid groups say that despite the truce, they are struggling to obtain approvals and security guarantees to get aid and relief teams to Khartoum and other places where they are needed.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said projections that one million people could flee Sudan by October were probably conservative, suggesting the number could be even higher.
More than 350,000 people have already fled to neighboring countries, mostly to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.
