Intl community calls for cease-fire in Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Explosions rocked the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces raged for the third day, sparking a wide range of concerns from the international community, with many countries and international organizations calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The intense conflict, which erupted on Saturday between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has seen airstrikes, tanks on the streets, artillery fire and heavy gunfire in crowded neighborhoods both in Khartoum and other cities across Sudan.

"The death toll among civilians in clashes since it began on Saturday …has reached 97," the doctors' union said early Monday, saying the figure does not include all casualties as many could not reach hospitals due to difficulties in movement amid the fighting.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, a separate organization, reported dozens of deaths among security forces, and some 942 wounded since Saturday, including civilians and military personnel.

The World Health Organization warned that several of Khartoum's nine hospitals receiving injured civilians "have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other vital supplies".

Medics have repeatedly pleaded for safe corridors for ambulances and a cease-fire to treat the victims, because the streets remain too dangerous for transporting casualties to hospital.

The violence has forced people to take shelter in their homes with fears of a prolonged conflict that could plunge the country into deeper chaos.

The fighting broke out after bitter disagreements between Sudanese Armed Forces commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army — a key condition for a deal aimed at ending a crisis.

The two sides accuse the other of starting the fighting, and both claim the upper hand by declaring control of key sites, including the airport and the presidential palace, media reported.

Burhan and Dagalo agreed to a three-hour pause in fighting from 4 pm local time to allow humanitarian evacuations proposed by the United Nations, the UN mission in Sudan said, but the gunfire did not stop.

Sudan's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Burhan has ordered the dissolution of the paramilitary RSF and branded it as a rebellious group.

UN condemns violence

Three UN staff from the World Food Programme were among those killed in fighting in the western region of Darfur, forcing a "temporary halt "to all operations in a country where one-third of the population needs aid.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remains deeply concerned about the continued clashes, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Sunday. Guterres strongly condemned the clashes that caused deaths and injuries of civilians, including the death of three staff members of the WFP, with two others seriously injured. Those responsible should be brought to justice without delay, said Dujarric in a statement.

Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate halt to the fighting and a return to dialogue, saying he will continue to engage with regional leaders and Sudanese stakeholders to find a way out of this crisis, it said.

The UN Security Council was to discuss the matter later on Monday.

China is closely following the developments of the situation in Sudan and calls on the two sides to stop fighting as soon as possible and prevent the escalation of tensions, China's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.

Appeals to end the fighting have also come from across the region and the globe, including the African Union, Arab League and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, an East African bloc.

Agencies - Xinhua