Latest Gunfire Threatens Fragile Truce in Sudan

Sun May 28 2023
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KHARTOUM: Gunfire rang out Sunday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, adding to truce violations that the US and Saudi mediators said largely hindered delivery of the desperately required aid it was supposed to enable.

Witnesses in Khartoum informed AFP they could hear “shooting in the south of the Khartoum” on the 6th day of the one-week ceasefire, which expires Monday night.

According to the mediators, the truce aimed to permit humanitarian aid for civilians shifted through secure corridors, but there were “violations by both sides that largely impeded” those goals.

They said in a joint statement that both sides had told facilitators their aim was de-escalation to facilitate humanitarian aid and necessary repairs. Still, both sides were posturing for further escalation.

Many ceasefires were previously announced and immediately beached, but the US and Saudi Arabia said this one is different as it is a signed agreement supervised by a monitoring committee.

Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project said in a statement that in six weeks of urban fighting, over 1,800 people have died.

The urban war pits the Sudanese Armed Forces — led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan — against his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the massively-armed Rapid Support Forces paramilitaries.

Mass Displacement in Sudan

According to the United Nations, about 1.4 million people have been displaced within the country and to neighbouring states.

The joint statement said both parties had impeded humanitarian efforts, including by the presence of snipers in vicinities of hospitals in RSF-controlled areas and army “elements” stealing medical supplies.

The mediators also reported a confirmed air attack on Saturday that reportedly killed 2 people in the capital and a separate air raid “that damaged the currency printing press of Sudan.

It said the RSF had seized private businesses, civilian homes, and public buildings, some looted.

According to the UN, a record twenty-five million people, over half the population, need humanitarian aid to survive.

The UN said that aid has only been trickling since the ceasefire started, with aid organizations repeatedly attacking and looting- reporting transportation and transportation challenges.

The mediators urged the warring parties to continue negotiations on extending the ceasefire to help in the improved delivery of aid the Sudanese badly need.

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