The inhabitants of his capital Sudan reported nighttime airstrikes and sporadic armed clashes this morning amid what they called a surge in looting, with no clear signs of progress in Saudi Arabia’s ceasefire talks.

The violence has sparked a wave of people fleeing their homes, with the number of internally displaced people in the country more than doubling in a week to over 700,000, according to the UN migration agency.

“The biggest danger is the spread of looting and looting, as well as the complete absence of police and law,” said Ahmed Saleh, 45, from the city of Bahri near Khartoum. According to residents, houses, shops and warehouses were shelled.

The emergence of a conflict between the army of Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (SSF) of Mohamed Hamdan Daglo creates the risk of a protracted war that could lead to the involvement of foreign forces and provoke a new humanitarian crisis throughout the region.

The United Nations estimates that another 5 million people will need emergency assistance inside Sudan, while 860,000 people are expected to flee to neighboring countries already in crisis at a time when rich countries have cut aid.

The World Health Organization said today it is raising the confirmed death toll to more than 600 with 5,000 injured, although the actual figure is believed to be much higher.

Until then, there is no definite a sign of progress in negotiations taking place in Saudi Arabia from Saturday, despite their specific goal of a ceasefire, to allow access for humanitarian reasons.

Yesterday Burhan said in a TV interview that he wants peace. “We believe that a peaceful solution is the ideal way to deal with the crisis,” he said, without indicating whether he was willing to compromise.

Tayyip Erdogan’s office said the Turkish president spoke to Burhan today and said that Ankara was ready to hold further talks on a more comprehensive settlement.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.