Air strikes have pummelled Khartoum, with representatives of Sudan’s warring factions meeting in Saudi Arabia for talks to prevent a “humanitarian catastrophe” as the fighting entered a fifth week.
A witness in west Khartoum reported army air strikes on paramilitary forces on Saturday, as brutal urban warfare continued in Sudan’s densely-populated capital.
More than 750 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since fighting erupted on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Over half a million people have fled Khartoum alone, according to the UN, with hospitals there shelled and rampant looting reported as residents suffer chronic shortages of food, electricity and medicine.
Air strikes have pummelled Khartoum, with representatives of Sudan’s warring factions meeting in Saudi Arabia for talks to prevent a “humanitarian catastrophe” as the fighting entered a fifth week.
A witness in west Khartoum reported army air strikes on paramilitary forces on Saturday, as brutal urban warfare continued in Sudan’s densely-populated capital.
More than 750 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since fighting erupted on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah al Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Over half a million people have fled Khartoum alone, according to the UN, with hospitals there shelled and rampant looting reported as residents suffer chronic shortages of food, electricity and medicine.
According to Moussa Hassan, a resident of Kassala, “prices have skyrocketed” in the city 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of the capital, as tens of thousands fleeing Khartoum transit through.
“Local authorities have declared a state of emergency” in a bid to ration essentials and prevent price gouging, Hassan told AFP.
Sudan launched on Saturday a plea for humanitarian assistance from the international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, and other regional organisations.
The government committed to “dedicating the port and airports of Port Sudan” on the Red Sea, Dongola airport in the country’s north and Wadi Seidna air base near the capital “to receive aid”.
Civilians and aid groups have repeatedly pleaded for humanitarian corridors to secure vital assistance, as aid agencies have been systematically looted and at least 18 humanitarian workers killed.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed hopes the Jeddah deal would “ensure that the relief operation can scale up swiftly and safely to meet the needs of millions of people in Sudan”, where a third of the population relied on aid even before the current conflict.
Guterres also reiterated “his call for an immediate ceasefire and expanded discussions to achieve a permanent cessation of hostilities”, in a Friday statement.
‘Quite far apart’
An RSF statement Friday said the group had signed the Jeddah agreement despite their “full knowledge” that the army “will not heed the suffering of our people”.
Hopes for a ceasefire remain dim after multiple truces were violated in past weeks.
US officials have described the talks as difficult, with one saying the two sides were “quite far apart”.
