by ReutersSaudi Arabia and the United States called on Sunday for an extension of a ceasefire agreement that brought some lull in the six-week war between the military factions, but said both sides had hindered aid efforts and were unable to move forward. Was doing asana for.
Residents said the sounds of clashes could be heard in the capital Khartoum throughout the night and into Sunday, while human rights monitors reported deadly fighting in El Fashir, one of the major towns in the western region of Darfur.
The conflict, which erupted on April 15 between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), has left the capital battling heavy fighting, chaos and a drop in services, driven some 1.4 million people from their homes and ravaged the region. threatened to destabilize
A week-long ceasefire in Saudi Arabia and US-led talks in Jeddah are due to last until Monday evening.
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Both countries are remotely monitoring the ceasefire and have asked the army and the RSF to renew the “imperfectly observed” ceasefire to allow humanitarian operations.
“Violations were committed by both sides, which significantly hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid and the restoration of essential services,” Saudi Arabia and the US said in a joint statement.
Violations
The statement cited violations of the ceasefire, including airstrikes and commandeering of medical supplies by the army, and the capture of civilian buildings and looting by the RSF.
It added, “Both sides have stated to the facilitators that their goal is de-escalation to facilitate humanitarian assistance and necessary repairs, yet both sides are prepared to move forward.”
RSF has said it is ready to discuss the possibility of renewal and that it will continue to monitor the ceasefire “to test the other side’s seriousness and commitment to whether or not to proceed with the renewal of the agreement”.
The army said it was discussing the possibility of expansion.
Some 350,000 people have crossed Sudan’s borders since the start of the fighting, with the largest numbers moving north from Khartoum to Egypt or west from Darfur to Chad.
In Khartoum, factories, offices, homes and banks were looted or destroyed. Electricity, water and telecommunications are often cut off, there are severe shortages of medicines and medical equipment, and food supplies are running low.
“We left because of the effects of the war. I have children and I fear for them because of the lack of medical treatment,” 29-year-old Samia Suleiman, a resident of the capital, told Reuters from Egypt Street.
“I also want my children to have a chance to go to school. I don’t see things getting back to normal in Khartoum anytime soon.”
some relief
A ceasefire agreement has brought some respite from heavy fighting but sporadic skirmishes and airstrikes have continued.
The UN and aid groups say that despite the ceasefire, they have struggled to obtain bureaucratic approval and security guarantees to move aid and staff to Khartoum and other places of need. The warehouses have been looted.
There are increasing reports of gender-based violence, particularly from displaced people within Sudan, the UN humanitarian office said in a statement.
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Violence has flared up in many parts of Darfur, which is already scarred by conflict and displacement, with hundreds of deaths recorded in El Djenina, near the border with Chad, during attacks residents have said are Arab nomadic tribes with links to the RSF. Blamed the “Janjavid” militia drawn from.
Darfur governor Minnie Minawi, a former rebel whose faction fought against militias in the Darfur conflict, said in a tweet that civilians should take up arms to defend their property.
In recent days there has also been fighting in El Fashir, the capital of North Darfur state.
There were three deaths and 26 injuries, including children, at an El Fashir hospital on Saturday, according to the Darfur Bar Association, an activist group. It said that many more people are missing.
Across the country, the health ministry has said at least 730 people have been killed in the fighting, although the real figure is likely much higher. It has recorded 510 deaths separately in El Gina.
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