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Calls grow for ceasefire in Sudan as deadly fighting continues Sudan violence escalates as rival factions reject ceasefire calls
(about 5 hours later)
US, UK, African Union and Arab states among those calling for end to fighting, as death toll nears 100 Neither side shows any willingness to heed appeals from US, UK, African Union and Arab states as death toll nears 100
Fighting between rival government factions is intensifying across much of Sudan as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict begin to gather momentum. Rival government factions in Sudan have rejected calls for a ceasefire and intensified their battle for control of the vast and strategically important country as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict gather momentum.
At least 97 people have been killed and hundreds wounded as clashes have spread since Saturday, when violence erupted between army units loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council. At least 97 people have been killed and many hundreds wounded as clashes have spread since Saturday, when violence erupted between army units loyal to Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the head of Sudan’s transitional governing Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council.
In Khartoum, fighting has centred on key sites such as the international airport, presidential palace and the army headquarters, where Burhan is thought to be based. Military jets flew low over the capital at first light on Monday, after a night of repeated bouts of firing and shelling. Burhan raised the stakes in the violence still further on Monday, ordering the dissolution of the RSF, which he called a “rebellious group.” For his part, Dagalo called Burhan “a radical Islamist who is bombing civilians from the air”.
Witnesses told Reuters the army was renewing airstrikes on RSF bases in Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city across the Nile. Dozens of bodies have been seen by witnesses in one central neighbourhood of the capital, while hundreds of students remain trapped by the fighting in schools. Fighting in Khartoum has centred on key sites such as the international airport, presidential palace and the army headquarters, where Burhan is thought to be based. Military jets flew low over the capital through much of Monday as repeated bouts of firing and shelling continued there and in Omdurman, Khartoum’s sister city across the Nile. Witnesses have reported dozens of bodies in one central neighbourhood of the capital, and hundreds of students remain trapped by the fighting in schools.
There were also reports of clashes at Merowe, 185 miles (300km) north of Khartoum, and in many parts of Darfur state. Officials have also reported fighting in the eastern region, including the provinces of Kassala and al-Qadarif on the borders with Ethiopia and Eritrea. Hospitals have been particularly affected, with essential supplies badly disrupted by the fighting. Hundreds of patients have been evacuated, while medical staff work to move others from intensive care or dialysis units to places of safety.
“We had to move them to the isolation centres along with 70 doctors and nurses, all have been trapped here with no oxygen for the chest patients and that’s really dangerous … The oxygen we have is from the time of the pandemic and it’s limited,” one nurse said.
A shell hit one Khartoum teaching hospital on Monday morning, injuring several patients and relatives. Another hospital has appealed for fuel to keep generators running. A dentist taking her sick father for treatment at another facility was killed, according to activists in the UK.
A doctor who spoke to the Guardian from the basement of the Khartoum teaching hospital described heavy shelling and orders from army soldiers to leave the premises.
“We are basically in the crossfire between the RSF and the army. They are firing at each other from their positions and we are in between.”
The doctor, who asked to remain anonymous, described an acute need for food and drinking water.
Dr Sara Ibrahim Abdelgalil, a UK-based Sudanese democracy activist who is in touch with many health professionals in Khartoum, said: “It is very bad. The real issue is that the armed conflict is inside residential areas. We don’t know how many casualties. Neither the RSF nor the army are promising protection of health workers, patients, humanitarians, the Red Crescent or ambulances and there’s no suggestion that they will in the future.”
In some parts of the city, informal neighbourhood committees have taken over the distribution of painkillers and rehydration salts to ill children who cannot be taken for treatment.
“Three families have contacted me to tell me about sick kids who they can’t get to medical attention. They can’t even get paracetamol to bring the temperature down,” Abdelgalil said.
With replacements unable to risk the streets of the city, many staff have been on duty since Friday and are exhausted.
Aid workers in remote parts of Sudan also reported tensions or violence. One based in on the eastern border with Ethiopia described the regular army overwhelming a small RSF contingent and seizing their base amid sporadic shooting. Officials also reported fighting in the east, including the provinces of Kassala and El Gadaref.
There were also reports of clashes at Merowe, 185 miles (300km) north of Khartoum, and in many parts of the Darfur region.
The more heavily armed regular military loyal to Burhan appeared to have the upper hand in the fighting over the weekend, but both sides are making claims and counterclaims that are impossible to verify.The more heavily armed regular military loyal to Burhan appeared to have the upper hand in the fighting over the weekend, but both sides are making claims and counterclaims that are impossible to verify.
Sudan state television cut its transmission on Sunday afternoon, a move that employees said was aimed at preventing the broadcast of propaganda by a paramilitary force that was battling the army for control of the capital. “The army seem to be doing well but the RSF have lots of men, weapons and vehicles so could hold out for a really extended time and that’s the scary thought. We just don’t know,” said one aid worker based in El Gedaref, south-east of Khartoum.
The conflict threatens to plunge one of Africa’s biggest and most strategically important nations into chaos. Analysts say only pressure from “heavyweight” intermediaries would have a chance of ending the fighting. The conflict threatens to plunge one of Africa’s biggest and most strategically important countries into chaos. Analysts say only pressure from “heavyweight” intermediaries will have a chance of ending the fighting.
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to talks to put Sudan back on track to a civilian-led government. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has called for an immediate ceasefire and a return to talks to put Sudan back on track to a civilian-led government. His British counterpart, James Cleverly, said a return to negotiations was the “ultimate desired outcome”.
Speaking at the G7 foreign ministers’ summit in Japan, Blinken said: “There is a shared deep concern about … the violence that is going on in Sudan, the threat that that poses to civilians, that it poses to the Sudanese nation and potentially poses even to the region. The African Union’s top council has called for an immediate ceasefire “without conditions”, while Arab states with stakes in Sudan – Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – made similar appeals. The UN security council was to discuss the crisis on Monday.
“There’s also a strongly held view across all of our partners on the need for an immediate ceasefire and a return to talks. Talks that were very promising in putting Sudan on a path to a full transition to civilian-led government. People in Sudan want the military back in the barracks, they want democracy, they want a civilian-led government. Sudan needs to return to that path.” Neither of the factions fighting for control of Sudan and its precious resources has shown any willingness to compromise.
Standing alongside his US counterpart, the UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said a return to negotiations was the “ultimate desired outcome” in Sudan. Burhan’s followers have called for the dismantling of the RSF, while Dagalo told the satellite news network Al Arabiya that he had ruled out negotiation and called on Burhan to surrender.
The African Union’s top council called on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire “without conditions”. It also asked the AU Commission chair, Moussa Faki Mahamat, to “immediately travel to Sudan to engage the parties towards a ceasefire.”
Arab states with stakes in Sudan – Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – made similar appeals. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Farhan bin Faisal, spoke by phone with Sudan’s rival generals and urged them to stop “all kinds of military escalation”, Saudi state TV reported.
However, neither of the factions fighting for control of Sudan and its precious resources has shown any willingness to compromise.
Burhan’s followers have called for dismantling the RSF, which it labelled a “rebellious militia”, while Dagalo told the satellite news network Al Arabiya that he had ruled out negotiation and called on Burhan to surrender.
The roots of the conflict lie in the divide-and-rule strategy pursued by the veteran Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who took power in 1989. The RSF was drawn from the feared Janjaweed militia accused of genocide in Darfur and acted as a counterweight to the regular army, whose loyalty Bashir doubted.The roots of the conflict lie in the divide-and-rule strategy pursued by the veteran Islamist autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who took power in 1989. The RSF was drawn from the feared Janjaweed militia accused of genocide in Darfur and acted as a counterweight to the regular army, whose loyalty Bashir doubted.
But though the two forces joined to oust Bashir in 2019 after months of mass popular protests, relations between them remained tense. Many analysts and diplomats in Khartoum predicted a violent contest after a military coup in October 2021 that derailed a gradual transition to civilian rule. The two forces joined to oust Bashir in 2019 after months of mass popular protests, but relations between them remained tense. Many analysts and diplomats in Khartoum predicted a violent contest after a military coup in October 2021 that derailed a gradual transition to civilian rule.
Sudan is in a deep economic crisis, with soaring inflation and massive unemployment. Khalid Omar, a spokesperson for the pro-democracy block that negotiated with the generals in recent months, warned that the conflict could lead to war and the country’s collapse. Sudan is in a deep economic crisis, with soaring inflation and massive unemployment. Khalid Omar, a spokesperson for the pro-democracy bloc that negotiated with the generals in recent months, warned that the conflict could lead to war and the country’s collapse.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Omar called on pro-democracy groups to set aside their disputes to find a way to end the crisis “immediately”.
On Sunday, the UN World Food Programme said it had temporarily suspended operations in Sudan after three agency employees were killed in clashes the previous day and an aircraft used by it was damaged.