SUDAN – Thousands of residents fled from Sudan’s capital where witnesses reported bodies in the streets and embassies said more than 270 civilians had been killed in battles between the army and paramilitaries by Thursday.
“Life in Khartoum is impossible if this war does not stop,” said Alawya al-Tayeb, 33, on her way out of the city.
“I tried to make children not see the slain bodies on the streets,” she said, adding that her youngsters are already suffering from trauma and will need treatment.
The Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries said they would “fully commit to a complete ceasefire” from 1600 GMT for 24 hours, as did the army.
But gunfire continued in Khartoum from the appointed time and into Wednesday night, according to witnesses.
It was the second day in a row a proposed humanitarian ceasefire failed to take hold.
The Sudanese army said that 177 Egyptian soldiers who had been captured by the RSF in the northern city of Merowe were evacuated Wednesday back to Egypt, a close ally of the military establishment, on four Egyptian military transport planes.
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Other evacuation plans have been difficult to orchestrate, as foreign diplomats have been attacked and UN received reports of sexual violence against aid workers.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced he would meet Thursday with the heads of the African Union (AU), the Arab League and regional bloc the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, his spokesman told reporters.
The violence erupted on Saturday between forces of the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo who commands the RSF.
It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army – a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition.
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Heavy gunfire resounded and deafening explosions rattled buildings in Khartoum, a city of five million people, as thick black smoke rose from buildings around the army headquarters.
RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.
Battles have damaged residential and commercial buildings, and civilians sheltering in their homes are becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water. (AFP)
