KHARTOUM (AP) — A barrage of gunfire and artillery fire continued in parts of the Sudan capital Khartoum on Saturday, residents said. Despite an extended ceasefire between the country’s two top generals, the struggle for power has killed hundreds and forced thousands to flee a life of imprisonment.
The civilian death toll rose to 411 on Saturday, according to the Sudan Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties. The fighting has so far injured an additional 2,023 civilians, the group added. In the war-torn city of Genena, capital of West Darfur, escalating violence has left 89 people dead. According to the Syndicate, fighters have moved into residences, occupied shops and hospitals, and are fighting in densely populated streets. Khartoum, a city of about 5 million people, is in the midst of a bitter conflict between the commander of the Sudanese army, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, leader of a powerful militia known as the modified Rapid Support. moved to the forefront of The forces that once dashed Sudan’s euphoric hopes for a democratic transition.
Other countries continued to evacuate diplomats and citizens, and thousands of Sudanese fled across the border. The UK said it would end evacuation flights on Saturday due to reduced demand for plane seats. According to the United Nations, more than 50,000 refugees, mostly women and children, have flowed across western borders into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic, raising fears of wider instability. I’m here. While ethnic conflicts and unrest plague South Sudan and the Central African Republic, Chad’s own transition to democracy has stalled after a coup.
Those fleeing Khartoum face another obstacle to ensuring their safety. The overland journey to Port Sudan, where ships evacuate people across the Red Sea, has proven long and dangerous. Former journalist Hatim El-Madani said paramilitary fighters were fleeing barricades fleeing the capital, urging them to hand over their mobile phones and valuables.Â
“RSF militias have a lawless, bandit-like character,” he said, referring to the Rapid Support Forces. “It suggests they don’t have a supply line, which could get worse in the coming days.”
Airlifts out of the country were also a challenge after a Turkish evacuation plane came under fire on Friday outside Khartoum.
Clashes continued Saturday around the presidential palace, the headquarters of the state broadcaster and a military base in Khartoum, despite a 72-hour extension of the ceasefire early on Friday due to strong international pressure, according to locals. rice field. The battle sent a thick column of black smoke across the city skyline.
In some areas near the capital, including Omdurman, residents reported that some businesses had reopened as the level of fighting declined amid a weak ceasefire. But in other areas, as explosions thundered around them, residents who took refuge in their homes said militants went from house to house, scaring people and stealing what they found.
Now, three weeks into the fighting, much of Khartoum has no electricity or running water. Sudan’s health ministry put the latest total death toll at 528 and injured at 4,500.
Those sheltering in their homes say they are running out of food and basic supplies. A resident of the city of Omdurman, west of Khartoum, said on Saturday that he had to wait three days to get fuel, complicating his escape plan. UN aid coordinator Martin Griffiths said the UN office in Khartoum and the cities of Genena and Nyala in Darfur had been attacked and looted. “This is unacceptable and prohibited by international law,” he said.
The main hospital in Genena was also destroyed in the fighting, according to Sudan’s health ministry.
