Some started evacuating foreign nationals From a Red Sea port in Sudan on Saturday, even airstrikes again rocked the capital Khartoum after a week of fighting between rival commanders that killed hundreds of civilians across the country.
The bloody onslaught of urban warfare in the Sudanese capital has trapped large numbers. The airport has been repeatedly targeted and many residents have been unable to leave their homes or move to safer areas outside the city.
The United Nations and foreign states have urged rival military leaders Honorable ceasefire declared Which has been mostly ignored, and to open safe routes for civilians to escape and badly needed aid supplies.
With the airport closed and the skies unsafe, thousands of foreigners, including embassy staff, aid workers and students in Khartoum and Africa’s third largest country, have also been unable to leave.
Saudi Arab Gulf citizens have been evacuated from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 650 km (400 mi) from Khartoum. Jordan will use this route for its citizens.
Western countries are expected to send planes to their citizens from Djibouti, although the Sudanese military has said airports in Khartoum and Darfur’s largest city Nyala are problematic and it was unclear when this might be possible.
A foreign diplomat said on condition of anonymity that some diplomatic staff in Khartoum expected to airlift people from Port Sudan in the next two days. The US Embassy warned Americans that it could not assist the convoy from Khartoum to Port Sudan and that travel would be at the individuals’ own risk.
Forces under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the rival Rapid Support Force (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, have been negotiating an agreed ceasefire almost daily since the start of hostilities on 15 April. failed to comply.
Saturday’s fighting violated a three-day ceasefire from Friday to allow civilians access to safety and visit family during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. Both sides accused each other of not respecting the treaty.
bombing
leave no stone unturned to fight On Saturday many residents of Khartoum could intensify a desperate rush to flee after being trapped in their homes or local districts with the bombardment and fighters roaming the streets.
On Saturday, residents of Khartoum and nearby sister cities Omdurman and Bahri reported airstrikes and fighting in other areas, including near the army headquarters, to the state broadcaster.
A resident of Bahri said there has been no water or electricity for a week and there have been frequent airstrikes. “We are waiting for the big fight. We are scared of what is to come,” he said.
Live television feeds showed a large cloud of black smoke billowing from Khartoum airport and the sounds of shooting and artillery.
“These terrible planes are back. I never want to hear another plane again,” said a Khartoum resident, referring to the fighter jets that targeted attacks on paramilitary positions.
International medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) appealed for safe passage. “We need ports of entry where we can bring in specialist trauma staff and medical supplies,” said Abdullah Hussein, operations manager for MSF Sudan.
The Sudanese doctors’ union said on Saturday that more than two-thirds of hospitals in conflict zones were out of service, with 32 forced out by troops or caught in the crossfire.
Beyond Khartoum, the worst violence has been reported from Darfur, a western desert region bordering Chad that has seen war since 2003 that has killed more than 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million who are constantly dragging after peace agreements.
A UN update said on Saturday that looters seized at least 10 World Food Program vehicles and six other food trucks at the agency’s offices and warehouses in Nyala in South Darfur.
sudden collapse
Sudan’s sudden collapse into war dashed plans to restore civilian rule, brought the already impoverished country to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe and threatened a wider conflict that could draw in outside powers.
There is no sign so far that either side in the deadly power struggle can score a quick victory or is ready to talk. The army has air power but the RSF is heavily embedded in urban areas.
However, Burhan said on Saturday that “we all need to sit down as Sudanese and find the right way to get hope and life back,” his most defiant remarks since the fighting began.
Hemedti’s brother, Abdulrahim Hamdan Dagalo, who is the RSF’s second-in-command, said in a video that his forces should attack the army “all over the place”.
After the 2021 coup, Burhan and Hemedti occupied the top two positions in the ruling council, which was to hand over civilian rule and merge the RSF with the military.
The World Health Organization said on Friday that 413 people have been killed and 3,551 injured since the fighting began. The dead included at least five aid workers in a country dependent on food aid.