Sudan's capital witnesses heavy clashes as 24-hour ceasefire expires
Sudan's capital city and adjacent areas have been scene of heavy clashes following the expiry of a 24-hour ceasefire between the country's army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
On Sunday, the violence rocked Khartoum as well as the adjoining cities of Bahri and Omdurman, which make up the North African country's capital around the confluence of the Nile River.
Witnesses described the new clashes, which involved heavy artillery fire, as some of the most intense to erupt since April 15, when the rival military factions started fighting over a power struggle between the army chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads the RSF.
Throughout the course of the fighting, the army has been carrying out airstrikes against the RSF, which has been responding mostly with anti-aircraft fire.
"The truce made us relax a bit, but the war and fear are returning today," a witness was quoted by Reuters as saying.
According to local activists, at least 11 civilians were killed at two sites of artillery shelling in southern Khartoum, while six civilians were killed in East Khartoum.
Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives since the eruption of armed clashes between the army and the RSF, while more than 1.9 million have been displaced, triggering a major humanitarian crisis that threatens to spill across the entire region.
Some 400,000 of those fleeing their homes have crossed into neighboring countries, about half of them heading north to Egypt.
On Saturday, Egypt tightened entry rules as it extended a requirement for entry visas from men aged 16-50 to all Sudanese citizens.
Clashes were also reported in the western region of Darfur, the city of El Geneina, near the border with Chad, and the city of El Obeid, which is the capital of North Kordofan state southwest of Khartoum.
"The situation is difficult. The RSF are spread out on the roads between the villages and they are looting, and there are gangs looting everywhere. Moving from place to place became dangerous," North Kordofan resident Mohamed Salman said.
Saudi Arabia and the United States, which have mediated several rounds of truce between the warring factions, including the latest 24-hour ceasefire, condemned resumption of the violence.
In a joint statement, the mediators said the army and the RSF had managed to control their forces during the ceasefire, adding, however, that Riyadh and Washington were "deeply disappointed by the immediate resumption of intense violence."
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