New ceasefire announced in Sudan on 5th day of clashes

Khartoum, Apr 19 (EFE).- Clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group continued for the fifth consecutive day on Wednesday.

A new 24-hour ceasefire, due to take effect at 6pm local time, has been announced, after Tuesday’s truce failed to halt the hostilities.

“We confirm our full commitment to a complete ceasefire, and we hope that the other party will abide by the armistice according to the announced time,” the RSF said on Twitter.

At least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,000 injured since the fighting broke out on Saturday, according to the World Health Organization.

According to media and witnesses, clashes continued on Wednesday morning, especially in the vicinity of the General Command of the Armed Forces, and the Presidential Palace, in the center of the capital, where the worst of the fighting has taken place.

Both the army and the paramilitaries have been accused of breaching Tuesday’s truce, as well as attacking civilian facilities, including medical centers and markets in the capital and other regions.

Army Spokesman Col. Nabil Abdullah, again accused “rebel forces” from the RSF of breaking the ceasefire, and of “moving in small groups without leadership or plan” and “carrying out looting operations in some neighborhoods of the capital and in the city of Merowe.”

The paramilitaries said the army attacked its troops “with heavy weapons from the first hours of the truce, while the planes continued to attack civilian complexes, including hospitals,” as well as “water and electricity supply stations.”

For their part, health sources warned of the serious humanitarian situation unfolding in the country and that more than half the hospitals in Khartoum and neighboring states were out of service, while the rest are at risk of closure due to lack of medical personnel and supplies. EFE

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