Fighting rages in Sudan after 24h truce expires

KHARTOUM — Heavy clashes and artillery fire erupted across Sudan's capital Khartoum on Sunday and residents reported airstrikes soon after the end of a 24-hour cease-fire that had brought a brief lull to eight weeks of fighting between rival military factions.

Witnesses said fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, was some of the heaviest for weeks, and included ground battles in the densely populated neighborhood of Haj Youssef in Bahri, one of three adjoining cities along with Khartoum and Omdurman that make up the capital around the confluence of the River Nile.

Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered the cease-fire at talks in Jeddah, said the truce had allowed the delivery of some vital humanitarian assistance and confidence-building measures.

"However, there were violations, and following the expiration of the short-term cease-fire, facilitators have been deeply disappointed by the immediate resumption of intense violence, which we strongly condemn," they said in a statement.

Just after the cease-fire expired at 6 am, witnesses said clashes and artillery fire resumed in the north of Omdurman. They also reported fighting in southern and central Khartoum, and in Shambat along the Nile in Bahri up to the strategic Halfiya bridge, which crosses to Omdurman.

"The truce made us relax a bit, but the war and fear are returning today," said Musab Saleh, a 38-year-old resident of southern Khartoum.

The one-day lull was "like a dream" that evaporated, said Nasreddin Ahmed, a resident of south Khartoum awakened by the renewed fighting.

Asmaa al-Rih, who lives in the capital's northern suburbs, lamented the "return of terror "with "rockets and shells shaking the walls of houses" once again.

The conflict between Sudan's army and the RSF, which broke out on April 15, has killed hundreds of civilians and displaced more than 1.9 million, triggering a major humanitarian crisis that threatens to spill across a volatile region.

A record 25 million people — more than half the population — are in need of aid and protection, the United Nations said.

Some 400,000 of those who have fled their homes have crossed into neighboring countries, about half of them heading north to Egypt.

Agencies Via Xinhua