Global Courant 2023-04-20 02:03:25
A new ceasefire attempt between Sudanese forces and paramilitary forces in Khartoum has so far failed, raising concerns over dwindling food supplies and the outage of essential medical services.
The 24-hour ceasefire — lobbied by countries trying to evacuate their citizens after days of conflict — should come into effect at 6pm local time (4pm GMT). However, eyewitnesses in Khartoum said fighting continued on Wednesday.
“We can still hear shelling near the presidential palace and the army high command,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Hiba Morgan.
“The ceasefire is not unconditional, with both sides saying they will only abide by it if they are not fired upon by the other side,” she added.
Earlier in the day, continuous bombing was heard in central Khartoum around the grounds that housed the army’s headquarters – where Sudan’s military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, said earlier this week he was stationed . It was not clear if he was still there.
“The armed forces are responding to another attack near the high command,” the army statement said.
There was another heavy gunfire in the Jabra neighborhood of western Khartoum, where the homes of paramilitary leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known as Hemedti, and his family are located, the Reuters news agency reported.
Hemedti’s location has not been disclosed since the fighting began on Saturday.
Explosions were also heard from the main airport, which was shut down after conflict erupted from a power struggle between al-Burhan and Hemedti over a plan to integrate Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the regular army.
Thick clouds of smoke rose into the sky and the streets of the capital, one of Africa’s largest cities with a population of about 5.5 million, were largely empty.
Huddled in their homes, residents struggled with power outages and worried about how long food supplies would last.
“Today we started missing some essentials,” says architect Hadeel Mohamed, concerned for the safety of her brother who was out looking for food.
Martin Griffiths, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the fighting had “completely halted” the world organization’s work in the country.
“People are not moving, supplies have been looted and we don’t know what supplies are left,” Griffiths told Al Jazeera.
“The focus must be relentlessly and with anger on the fact that people across the country have been forced into this lockdown, during the fasting month of Ramadan, close to Eid and in temperatures of 40 degrees,” he said.
At least 270 people have been killed and 2,600 injured, according to estimates by the Sudanese Ministry of Health. Nine hospitals have been hit by artillery and 16 had to be evacuated, the Sudanese Doctors Union said, none of them fully operating in the capital.
“The hospitals have completely collapsed, devoid of all supplies. It is beyond catastrophic…,” said Osama Othman, spokesman for the Red Crescent in Sudan.
Al-Burhan heads a ruling council installed after the 2021 military coup and the removal of veteran leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019, while Hemedti, who analysts say commands more than 100,000 fighters, was his deputy on the council.
Their conflict has dashed hopes of progress towards democracy in Sudan, threatens to bind neighboring countries and could fuel regional competition between Russia and the United States. Sudan is strategically located between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and the unstable Sahel region of Africa.
Chad’s armed forces on Monday disarmed 320 Sudanese soldiers who had entered its territory, the defense minister said, adding that Chad did not want to be involved in the conflict.
“Today, thousands of refugees cross our border to seek protection. We have no choice but to welcome and protect them,” said Defense Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim. Other people from Khartoum moved to southern Sudan, where there are no reports of fighting.
The army controls access to Khartoum and appears to be trying to cut off supply routes to RSF fighters. According to witnesses and residents, army reinforcements were brought in from near the eastern border with Ethiopia.
The RSF said the military had used heavy artillery against homes in Jabra in violation of international law. An RSF call center had been set up to help people in parts of the capital it controls, it said.
Insist on evacuations
Foreign powers have pushed for a ceasefire to allow for evacuations and the delivery of supplies, but although the two sides announced ceasefires on both Tuesday and Wednesday, neither was held.
With planes smoldering on the runway of Khartoum International Airport, evacuation seemed difficult for now.
“There is no way to get out,” Belgian diver Henri Hemmerechts told Reuters from Khartoum. “It’s just awful and frankly there’s nothing we can do at the moment.”
The US State Department said there are no plans for a US government-coordinated evacuation. Turkey has also said it cannot evacuate at the moment.
Germany on Wednesday halted a mission to airlift about 150 civilians with three Luftwaffe A400M transport planes, Der Spiegel magazine reported, citing unnamed sources.
When asked about the report, Germany’s foreign ministry said all options are being assessed.
Japan’s chief of cabinet said authorities planned to use a military self-defense force plane to evacuate about 60 Japanese civilians.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will discuss the situation with leaders of the African Union, Arab League and other relevant organizations on Thursday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
“People in Sudan are running out of food, fuel and other essential supplies. Many are in urgent need of medical care,” Dujarric said.
Gunmen have targeted hospitals and humanitarian workers, with reports of sexual assault against aid workers, the UN said.
Most hospitals are out of order and the health organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) said gunmen raided a supply warehouse in the west of the country.
Even before the conflict, about a quarter of the Sudanese population suffered from acute hunger. The World Food Program halted one of its largest global aid operations in the country on Saturday after three of its workers died.
