Fighting escalates in Sudan’s capital

Fighting intensified in several areas of Khartoum on Sunday, residents of Sudan’s capital reported, a day after the expiry of a ceasefire deal between rival military factions brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The ceasefire had started on May 22 and expired on Saturday evening. It calmed the fighting slightly and allowed limited humanitarian access, but like previous truces was repeatedly violated. Talks to extend the ceasefire broke down on Friday.

The deadly power struggle which erupted in Sudan on April 15 has triggered a major humanitarian crisis in which more than 1.2 million people have been displaced within the country and caused another 400,000 to flee into neighbouring states. It also threatens to destabilise the region as a whole. 

Live footage on Sunday showed black smoke billowing above the capital. “In southern Khartoum we are living in terror of violent bombardment, the sound of anti-aircraft guns and power cuts,” said 34-year-old resident Sara Hassan by phone. “We are in real hell.”

Among the other areas where fighting was reported were central and southern Khartoum, and Bahri, across the Blue Nile to the north.

Beyond the capital, deadly fighting has also broken out in the remote western region of Darfur, already grappling with long-running unrest and huge humanitarian challenges.

Witnesses reported that heavy fighting on Friday and Saturday had brought chaos to Kutum, one of the main towns and a commercial hub in North Darfur.

The army denied claims that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which developed out of Darfur militias and has its power base in the region, had taken over the town.

Witnesses said a military plane had crashed in Omdurman, one of three cities around the confluence of the Nile that make up the greater capital region.

There was no immediate comment from the army, which has been using warplanes to target the RSF spread out across the capital.