Heavy gun battle resumes in Sudan as ceasefire ends

Witnesses said shelling and gunfire resumed Sunday in Sudan’s capital, ending a 24-hour ceasefire that had provided inhabitants with a rare reprieve from over two months of war.

Deadly warfare has raged in the northeast African country since mid-April when army leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who controls the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), turned on one other.

The latest in a series of ceasefire accords allowed civilians stranded in Khartoum’s capital to walk outdoors and stock up on food and other necessities.

However, only 10 minutes after it ended at 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Sunday, the capital was rocked anew by shelling and skirmishes, according to witnesses.

Heavy artillery fire was heard in Khartoum and its twin city, Omdurman, to the north, and fighting started on Al-Hawa Street, a major artery in the capital’s south, witnesses reported.

Since the combat began, numerous truces have been agreed upon and violated, and Washington sanctioned both rival generals when the most recent attempt failed at the end of May.

The new nationwide truce was proclaimed by US and Saudi mediators, who warned that they may abandon mediation efforts.

“Should the parties fail to observe the 24-hour ceasefire, facilitators will be compelled to consider adjourning” discussions in the Saudi city of Jeddah, which had been postponed since late last month, the mediators said on Saturday.

The mediators stated that they “share the Sudanese people’s frustration with the uneven implementation of previous ceasefires.”

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, up to 1,800 individuals have been killed in the fighting.

According to the UN, about two million people have been displaced, with 476,000 seeking safety in neighbouring countries.

AFP