Global Courant 2023-05-31 21:06:55
Six weeks after the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF, multiple ceasefire agreements have failed and hundreds have been killed.
Efforts to end the war in Sudan, in its seventh week, suffered a major setback when the Sudanese military suspended talks with its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Negotiations began in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah in early May with the aim of protecting civilians and implementing ceasefire agreements that have been repeatedly violated.
More than 1,800 people have been killed since fighting began in mid-April, and more than 1.6 million people have been displaced within the country or across borders, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the UN said. many flee to Egypt, Chad and South Sudan.
Here are the key developments in the war raging in the Northeast African country.
April 15: Fighting erupts
On April 15, heavy gunfire and explosions shook the capital Khartoum, causing panic in the city of more than five million people on the Nile.
The army, led by Sudan’s de facto ruler, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Burhan’s deputy-turned-rival, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”, are the first to accuse each other of to attack.
The clashes come after years of instability and repeated coups.
Fighting is also breaking out in the western region of Darfur, which is still reeling from a brutal war that began in 2003 under longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir.
April 22: hurry to evacuate
Countries are scrambling to evacuate their nationals from Khartoum, either by plane or along desert roads, some of which are lined with burnt-out military vehicles.
Thousands flee in a frantic exodus as many embassies are looted.
Millions of Sudanese are trapped in their homes, many quickly running out of water, food, medicine and basic necessities, and fear the urban fighting and roaming looters.
April 25: Failed truce, escape from prison
The US and Saudi Arabia negotiate a 72-hour ceasefire, but it is quickly broken. A series of further ceasefire agreements that follow suffer the same fate.
Ahmed Harun, a leading figure in al-Bashir’s regime, who was ousted in 2019, announces that he has escaped from prison.
The military says al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide over the Darfur war, was taken to a hospital before fighting began.
26 April:
Aid organizations are sounding the alarm as humanitarian efforts across the country are interrupted. Organizations are struggling to figure out how to keep working while ensuring the safety of their employees during the fighting.
April 27th:
The Sudanese military and RSF agree to extend their ceasefire for “another 72 hours” amid ongoing violence in Khartoum and the western region of Darfur.
But fighting continues as fighter jets patrol over the capital’s northern suburbs and fighters on the ground exchange artillery and heavy machine gun fire, according to witnesses.
May 5: African ‘fortune seekers’
UN Special Representative Volker Perthes says armed “fortune seekers” from Mali, Chad and Niger are joining the fray, lured by money and gold.
His claim echoes the military’s claim that the RSF is using mercenaries from elsewhere in Africa.
May 6: Talks begin in Jeddah
US-Saudi-backed talks between army and RSF envoys begin in Jeddah.
11 May:
Both sides agree to allow urgently needed humanitarian aid to reach war-affected areas, committing to “ensuring the protection of civilians”, but again, the fighting never ends.
May 22nd:
A new one-week ceasefire will take effect on May 22, but it is also repeatedly violated.
27th of May:
Al-Burhan is demanding the resignation of UN envoy to Sudan, Volker Perthes, accusing him of fomenting the conflict.
May 31: Army walks out
On May 31, the military says it has suspended its participation in the ceasefire talks, accusing the RSF of failing to honor its ceasefire commitments.
