The nightmare of hostilities continues in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries, airstrikes, shootings and explosions in the capital Khartoum and despite the declaration of a ceasefire.

According to eyewitnesses, over Khartoum, which has a population of five million people, “fighter jets are flying”, and in different areas gunfire and explosions are heard.

Fighting that has claimed hundreds of lives broke out on April 15 between the two generals who have ruled the country since the 2021 coup, leaving millions of Sudanese trapped.

The crisis is “unprecedented”.

“The scale and speed with which events are unfolding in Sudan are unprecedented,” said the United Nations yesterday, Sunday, which sent its humanitarian officer Martin Griffiths to the region.

“I am coming (…) to see how we can provide immediate assistance” to the residents, Griffiths said, adding that “the humanitarian situation is reaching the point of collapse” in a country that is one of the poorest in the world. . . .

The massive looting of aid offices and warehouses “used up most of our supplies,” he said.

However, in a country where a third of the population suffered from hunger even before the war, the World Food Program (WFP) announced that it was “immediately lifting the suspension of its activities” that it ordered after the death of three of its employees.

The head of the armed forces, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hamedi, agreed to extend a three-day ceasefire at midnight yesterday, Sunday, after “mediation by the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the report said. Sudanese armed forces.

But from the very beginning of the conflict, a ceasefire was declared, but it was soon violated. According to experts, they only mean the preservation of safe corridors for the export of foreigners and the continuation of negotiations ongoing abroad.

So far, the two generals deny direct negotiations.

The fighting has claimed the lives of 528 people, and the number of injured is 4,599, according to official figures, which are considered to be much lower than reality.

Sending aid and evacuating civilians

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) managed yesterday, Sunday, to land in Port Sudan, 850 kilometers east of Khartoum, the first plane carrying eight tons of humanitarian aid.

This aid will only allow “1,500 wounded” to be treated, he warned.

EMU registered 75,000 internally displaced persons. At least 20,000 fled to Chad, 6,000 to the Central African Republic and thousands more to South Sudan and Ethiopia.

In total, up to 270,000 people, according to the UN, may have fled their homes to escape the fighting, which affects 12 of the 18 states in this country of 45 million people.

Residents of the capital who did not leave remain in their homes, trying to survive despite the lack of food, water and electricity.

The state of Khartoum has given “extra leave” to government employees while police say they were deployed to prevent looting.

“Unbearable situation” in hospitals

Most of the country’s hospitals are closed. For those who are still working, “the situation is unbearable” due to the lack of supplies, Mazub Saad Ibrahim, a doctor in Ad Damir, north of Khartoum, told AFP.

Countries including France, Germany and the United States have turned down their own citizens and other foreigners. Canada halted export operations “due to dangerous conditions”.

The Arab League is meeting today in Cairo to discuss the situation in Sudan after the United Arab Emirates, an ally of General Daglo, according to experts, announced the call of the commander of the armed forces.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan met yesterday, Sunday, with General Burhan’s envoy.

In addition, Riyadh asked to hold a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Wednesday.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}