KHARTOUM – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called yesterday for a ceasefire in Sudan, as fighting between two rival generals showed no signs of abating ahead of festivities marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
The UN chief urged a truce of “at least three days” to mark Eid al-Fitr, which begins today, as explosions and gunfire resounded in Sudan’s capital for the sixth straight night.
More than 300 people have been killed since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Some of the fiercest fightings have been in the capital of Khartoum, a city of five million people, most of whom have been sheltering at home without electricity, food or water.
As battles raged, Burhan dismissed any prospects for negotiations with Daglo, telling Al Jazeera television that he saw no option but “decisive military” action.
“I do not think there is any room for talks over politics again with the Rapid Support Forces,” he told the Qatar-based broadcaster while adding that he was open to mediation.
Yesterday, Burhan received calls from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, South Sudan President Salva Kiir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, as well as the US, Saudi and Qatari foreign ministers, according to an army statement.
After two ceasefires failed to take hold in two days, gunfire continued into last night, with columns of black smoke rising from buildings around Khartoum International Airport and the army headquarters.
Residents of the capital have struggled to sleep for nearly a week and been jolted awake by “the roaring sound of fighter jets and air strikes,” said Nazek Abdalla, a 38-year-old in southern Khartoum.
“We locked our doors and windows, hoping no stray bullets would hit our building.”
While many sheltered at home, others were venturing out despite the risks “to protect themselves and their families”, said architect Tagreed Abdin.
Beyond Khartoum, witnesses reported loud explosions in the city of Obeid, in the central state of North Kordofan.
‘Reeks of death’
“It reeks of death in some parts of town,” said one witness in Obeid.
Ahmed al-Mandhari of the World Health Organisation said yesterday that “almost 330 people have died and almost 3,200 more” had been wounded in Khartoum, the western Darfur region and other states.
The fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilians, with the UN children’s agency Unicef saying “at least nine children have reportedly been killed”.
The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people – one-third of the population – already face food insecurity.
It has suspended its Sudan operations after the killing of three WFP workers on Saturday.
“We wish the fighting would stop during Eid festivities,” Abdalla said.
“We know it will not happen though.”
Burhan and Daglo’s bitter dispute centres around the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition.
Around Khartoum and elsewhere, RSF fighters in armoured vehicles and pickups mounted with machine guns have taken over the streets.
Many have mounted checkpoints to search cars carrying civilians trying to escape the worst battle zones to safer areas in Khartoum and beyond.
Civilians are becoming increasingly desperate – by Tuesday, thousands had fled the capital, with many reporting streets strewn with corpses.
Hospitals hit
Medics have warned of a catastrophe, especially in Khartoum, where many hospitals were reportedly caught in the crossfire.
Up to 70% of the hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states have been rendered “out of service” by the fighting, the doctors’ union said.
It has warned the death toll is likely to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals.
Several countries’ evacuation plans have been put on hold, with the US Defence Department announcing yesterday that it was deploying forces “nearby in the region” with hopes of “securing and potentially facilitating the departure of US Embassy personnel from Sudan”.
The Sudanese army said 177 Egyptian soldiers were evacuated from the northern city of Meroe to Egypt, which confirmed their arrival. The RSF said later that it handed over another 27 Egyptian soldiers to the Sudanese Red Cross, and Cairo confirmed their arrival at Egypt’s Khartoum embassy.
The United Arab Emirates said it had led the mediation for the Egyptians held by the RSF.
Burhan and Daglo toppled autocratic president Omar al-Bashir together in April 2019 following massive protests against three decades of iron-fisted rule.
In October 2021, they again worked together to oust the civilian government installed after Bashir’s downfall, derailing an internationally backed transition to democracy.
Burhan, whose career advanced under Bashir, has maintained that his coup was “necessary” to bring more factions into politics.
But Daglo, who rose to prominence during Bashir’s scorched-earth policy against Darfuri rebels, has since called the coup a “mistake” that failed to bring change and instead invigorated Bashir diehards. – AFP, April 21, 2023
