BY NKATHA WAINAINA
Fighting raged in Sudan hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
The conflict between Sudan’s military leader and his deputy on Sudan’s ruling council erupted five days ago, slowing down an internationally backed plan for a transition to a civilian democracy four years after the fall of former leader Omar al-Bashir to mass protests and two years after a military coup in 2021.
According to the UN, at least 270 people died in the conflict, and 2600 were injured.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he had telephoned the two rival leaders and had appealed for a ceasefire “to allow the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families” and to provide them with relief. Both sides reportedly agreed to the ceasefire.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it was nearly impossible to provide humanitarian services around the capital.
The UN has described the situation as a humanitarian catastrophe as the World Food Programme suspended operations after three of their employees were killed.
The RSF has been looting in some residential areas of the capital. Hospitals are crowded and have run out of food and medical supplies.
Students at the University of Khartoum have been trapped inside campus buildings as artillery and gunfire rain down around them in Sudan’s capital.
Medics and hospital staff were forced to evacuate, leaving patients, and some newborn babies in incubators.
Multiple diplomats and humanitarian workers have been targeted. US Secretary of State confirmed there was an attack on a US diplomatic convoy on Monday.
The European Union ambassador to Sudan was also assaulted in his residency on Monday, and three workers from the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) were killed in Darfur.
Presidents from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia have been asked to fly in and try to resolve the dispute. There are no further developments on this front as planes are not entering or leaving the country.
The United Nations envoy on Sudan, Volker Perthes, said the two sides were “not giving the impression that they want mediation for peace between them” immediately.
COURTESY: ALJEEZERA and BBC