Global Courant 2023-04-19 01:48:28
The regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused each other of disrespecting the ceasefire.
Hours after an internationally brokered ceasefire was supposed to have taken effect, fighting raged in Sudan as troops loyal to dueling generals battled for key sites in the capital, accusing each other of ceasefire violations.
Loud gunfire echoed in the background of live feeds from multiple television news outlets in Khartoum’s capital on Tuesday, minutes after the ceasefire’s agreed-upon start at 6pm (4pm GMT).
The regular army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued statements accusing each other of disrespecting the ceasefire. The army’s high command said it would continue operations to secure the capital and other regions.
(Al Jazeera)
“We have received no indication here that the fighting has ceased,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference in New York.
Conflict between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy in Sudan’s governing council erupted four days ago, derailing an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian democracy four years after the fall of former leader Omar al-Bashir following mass protests and two years after a military coup.
The fighting has led to what the UN has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. The organization’s World Food Program suspended operations after three of its employees were killed.
At least 185 people have been killed in the conflict, according to the UN.
Speaking in Japan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday he had called the two rival leaders — army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo — calling for a ceasefire. firing “to allow the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families” and to provide them with assistance.
Parties say they are in favor of ceasefire
Both sides told Al Jazeera they supported the agreed ceasefire.
“We are keen to implement the ceasefire and restore normal life in the city. But the RSF is a militia that respects nothing,” said Colonel Khaled Al-Akida, an army spokesman.
Meanwhile, the RSF said it will uphold its part of the ceasefire agreement.
“Our forces deployed in different parts of Khartoum are committed to the ceasefire,” Musa Khaddam, adviser to the RSF commander, told Al Jazeera.
Al-Burhan heads a ruling council installed after the 2021 military coup and al-Bashir’s removal in 2019, while Dagalo — better known as Hemedti — is his deputy on the ruling council.
Their power struggle has stalled plans for a shift to civilian rule after decades of autocracy and military rule in Sudan, which sits at a strategic crossroads between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa’s volatile Sahel region.
Unless checked, the violence also threatens to attract actors from the Sudanese region who have supported various factions.
An earlier, shorter ceasefire agreed for Sunday was also widely ignored. Artillery salvos, fighter jet attacks and street fighting have made it almost impossible to travel in Khartoum, trapping residents and foreigners in their homes.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was almost impossible to provide humanitarian aid in the capital. It warned that Sudan’s health system was collapsing.
