Renewed fighting in Sudan’s Khartoum despite extended ceasefire
Khartoum, May 1 (EFE).- Intense clashes broke out in Sudan on Monday, despite the extended truce called between the warring military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Gunfire was heard in the vicinity of the presidential palace, which has seen heavy fighting since the sudden outbreak of violence on April 15, witnesses told Efe.
Large columns of smoke rose in several neighborhoods in Khartoum North city, while warplanes were seen dropping explosives on areas where RSF positions are located, according to witnesses.
Earlier, when tense calm prevailed in Khartoum and other regions of the crisis-ridden country, the Sudanese Army claimed to have halved the combat capacity of the rival RSF in the two weeks of a violent power battle.
In a statement, the army said the paramilitary group had mobilized more than 27,000 combatants and 39,000 recruits in the capital until April 15, when the fighting broke out, as part of a plot to seize power.
The paramilitary had also brought 2,000 combat vehicles and armored cars to the capital.
In the last 15 days of fighting, the army reduced by 45 to 55 percent of the combat capabilities that the paramilitary had mobilized, said the military.
It accused the paramilitary of trying to fly combat jets from its strongholds in the west to the capital to strengthen its position on the ground.
The statement claimed that the situation in all the regions of Sudan was “stable,” vowing not to back down and “never accept the presence of militias” in the country.
The paramilitary did not react to the army’s claims.
The statement came hours after the United States and Saudi Arabia-mediated truce between the army and the paramilitary went into effect.
The current truce, the sixth since the conflict began, increased the movement of citizens in Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman.
Only a few stores, markets, and pharmacies were open to the public.
Buyers grumbled about exorbitant costs and a lack of supplies, particularly pharmaceuticals. Vehicles lined in front of numerous petrol stations in the capital and Omdurman.
The World Food Programme, which had paused its Khartoum operations on April 16 following the deaths of three members of its team in Darfur (west), said in a statement on Monday that it had resumed operations despite the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe.
On April 15, a deadly power struggle erupted between the Sudanese military and the well-armed paramilitary.
It sparked a humanitarian disaster that resulted in the deaths of at least 528 people.
According to the United Nations, the violence has displaced tens of thousands of people, caused a collapse in the healthcare system in the impacted areas, and created a critical shortage of basics.
Over 50,000 Sudanese have sought refuge in seven neighboring countries. EFE
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