By Khalid Abdelaziz and Nafisa Eltahir
KHARTOUM, April 22 (Reuters) – The Sudanese military declared on Saturday that it had agreed to help evacuate foreign nationals amid gunshots and airstrikes in Khartoum, despite pledges by the warring parties to ceasefire for three years. days after a week of clashes that have left hundreds dead.
The statement – which quotes the head of the army, Abdel Fatteh al-Burhan – follows promises by his rival, the leader of the Rapid Support Forces (FAR), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, to open the airports for the evacuations.
Residents of Khartoum’s twin cities Omdurman and Bahri said fighting intensified late Saturday morning after a relative calm, with airstrikes near the state broadcaster and shootings in several areas.
Live television images showed a huge cloud of black smoke rising from Khartoum airport and the sound of gunfire and artillery shells.
The army and the paramilitary FAR, which are waging a deadly struggle for power throughout the country, had issued separate statements announcing that they would maintain a three-day ceasefire starting Friday, on the occasion of the Islamic holiday of Eid. al-Fitr.
Sudan’s sudden warlike collapse a week ago has derailed plans to restore civilian rule, brought an already impoverished country to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe and threatens a broader conflict that could draw in foreign powers.
There are no signs yet that either side can secure a quick victory or is willing to back down and talk. The army has air power, but the FAR is widely deployed in urban areas, including around key installations in central Khartoum.
Burhan and Hemedti held the two highest positions on the governing council overseeing the political transition after the 2021 coup, which was to include a move to civilian rule and the merger of the FAR with the army.
The World Health Organization reported Friday that 413 people had been killed and 3,551 injured since the fighting broke out. Among the fatalities are at least five aid workers in a country dependent on food aid. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz in Khartoum and Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo Edited in Spanish by Javier López de Lérida)
Source: Ambito
