Fighting resumes in Sudan as truce expires

KHARTOUM — Sudan's capital Khartoum was again under fire on Wednesday, after the latest breached cease-fire ended without any sign of an end to more than two months of conflict and as more than 2.5 million people have fled their homes.

Eyewitnesses said Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, warplanes flew over southern areas of Khartoum and bombarded a major camp of the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, there. The warplanes also attacked RSF targets in Bahri town in the north of Khartoum.

Violent clashes also took place north of Omdurman city, west of Khartoum, while sounds of explosions were heard near the SAF's Engineers Corps base.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia and the United States announced in a joint statement that representatives of the SAF and RSF had agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire beginning on Sunday at 6 am.

However, an immense fire had already engulfed the intelligence service's headquarters in Khartoum on Tuesday evening, with each side accusing the other of attacking it in violation of the truce, Agence France-Presse reported.

Mediators had repeatedly warned that if the cease-fire, which ended at dawn on Wednesday, were not respected, they would consider adjourning talks between the warring sides in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly armed clashes between the SAF and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas since April 15, which have left over 3,000 people killed and more than 6,000 others injured, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry.

More than 2.5 million people have fled their homes, of whom around 600,000 have sought refuge in neighboring countries, according to latest figures from the International Organization for Migration.

Aid pledges

A donors' conference on Monday raised close to $1.5 billion in aid pledges for Sudan and neighboring countries, but that amounted to less than half of the estimated needs.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that within the last month, it has helped truck aid to various parts of Sudan, including 50 truckloads in the first two days of the latest cease-fire.

UN chief Antonio Guterres warned this week that "the scale and speed of Sudan's descent into death and destruction is unprecedented "and the country could become a "locus of lawlessness" without strong international intervention.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on Wednesday "46 attacks on healthcare since the start of the fighting".

He said about two-thirds of health facilities in areas affected by the conflict are "out of service", and warned that "the risk of epidemics will only increase" with the rainy season due to start this month.

Agencies - Xinhua