KHARTOUM: Sounds of heavy artillery and gunfire have been reportedly heard in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman despite a 72-hour, US-brokered ceasefire between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary faction Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Reportedly, fighting also broke out in Geneina in West Darfur.
Earlier, the two groups agreed to a 72-hour truce after intense negotiations brokered by the US and Saudi Arabia.
The agreement comes as Western, Arab and Asian nations struggled to pull out their citizens from the war-torn country.
The SAF confirmed that the US and Saudi Arabia mediated the ceasefire, starting at midnight local time.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that warring parties in Sudan had agreed to a 72-hour truce.
The latest ceasefire is the fourth effort to stop the fighting which began on April 15 after all previous truces were breached.
Blinken said the agreement was reached between the regular army and the paramilitary RSF after 48 hours of intense negotiations. The RSF and the army independently announced the ceasefire.
According to the BBC, around 400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since fighting erupted on April 15.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the violence in the country risks causing a “catastrophic conflagration” which could engulf the whole region and beyond.
Since the violence erupted, millions of residents in the battle-scarred capital Khartoum have been trapped inside their homes, many running low on water and food.
The continuous bombing and gunfire from the two factions has damaged key infrastructure, like water pipes, forcing some people to drink from the River Nile.
Foreign countries have scrambled to evacuate their diplomats and citizens as fighting raged in the capital and surrounding areas.
Earlier, Blinken said that some convoys attempting to move people out of the capital city faced “robbery and looting”.
The US, he said, was looking at possibly resuming its diplomatic presence in Sudan, but he said the conditions there as “very challenging”.
Monitoring group NetBlocks said that Sudan suffered an “internet blackout” with connectivity at two per cent of ordinary levels. In Khartoum, there has been an internet blackout since Sunday night.
