KHARTOUM: Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum is still engulfed in fighting as a power struggle between the army and a paramilitary force enters its third week.
Despite the announcement of a 72-hour truce extension on Friday, fighting continued with airstrikes, tanks, and artillery rocking the city. Hundreds of people have been killed so far, and tens of thousands have been displaced since the violence erupted on April 15.
The conflict has also reignited a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region, where scores of people have died this week. The United Nations estimates that at least 512 people have been killed and close to 4,200 wounded, with more than 75,000 people being internally displaced within Sudan in the first week of fighting. Hospitals in the capital are also struggling to operate normally.
Evacuation from Sudan
Foreign governments have evacuated their citizens and diplomats to safety over the past week, with Britain ending its evacuations on Saturday as demand for spots on planes had declined.
The US reported several hundred Americans had departed Sudan by land, sea, or air, and a convoy of buses carrying 300 Americans left Khartoum on Friday on a 525-mile trip to the Red Sea in the first US evacuation effort for citizens.
The violence has sent thousands of refugees across Sudan’s borders and threatens to stir instability across a volatile swathe of Africa between the Sahel and the Red Sea.
The latest ceasefire was brokered by foreign powers and is supposed to last until Sunday at midnight, but both sides have accused each other of violating it.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) accused the army of violating the ceasefire with airstrikes on its bases in Omdurman and Mount Awliya, while the army blamed the RSF for violations. The fighting has left many residents pinned down by urban warfare with scarce food, fuel, water, and power.
Foreign governments are calling for an immediate end to the violence and for both sides to return to negotiations to resolve the conflict peacefully.
In the meantime, the government of Pakistan has continued to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis, with a third batch of 97 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan arriving at Jinnah International Airport from Jeddah via a C-130 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force.
Third batch of 97 Pakistani nationals from Port Sudan has arrived at JIA, Karachi via Jeddah aboard PAF aircraft C-130. Government of Pakistan will continue to facilitate the safe return of stranded Pakistanis. pic.twitter.com/leTuhqq30Q
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) April 29, 2023
The situation in Sudan remains highly volatile, and the international community is closely monitoring the situation.
