Residents claim that the Sudanese army carried out airstrikes in the capital city of Khartoum on Monday in an effort to gain ground on its paramilitary adversaries before a week-long cease-fire that would have allowed for the delivery of aid was about to go into effect.
Witnesses claim that the army also conducted airstrikes on Sunday evening against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ mobile units, which have been operating throughout the capital’s civilian neighborhoods since the two military factions’ fight broke out on April 15.
There will be a cease-fire in effect beginning at 9:45 p.m. local time (19:45 GMT), according to both parties. While violence has continued during earlier cease-fires, this is the first truce that has been publicly approved after negotiations.
The Saudi Arabian and American diplomats who mediated the agreement following negotiations in Jeddah will be part of the monitoring system for the cease-fire, together with members from the army and the RSF.
With roughly 1.1 million people forced from their homes, including more than 250,000 who fled into neighboring countries, the war has sparked hopes of a respite in the conflict, which threatens to destabilize the already unstable region.
Residents in the three cities that make up the larger capital, Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri—which are divided by the confluence of the Blue and White Niles—reported airstrikes on Monday. They added that they could hear fighting in Khartoum’s city center.
The RSF has been difficult for the army to drive out of neighborhoods where it has taken over residential structures and from key locations in the center of Khartoum. The RSF, which has its origins in the dreaded militias that fought alongside the government in Darfur, is skilled in ground combat, whereas the army has primarily relied on airstrikes and heavy artillery.
Millions of people are confined to their houses or neighborhoods in Khartoum after more than five weeks of warfare.
Residents have experienced escalating looting and lawlessness in addition to debilitating power and water disruptions. Some regions have been experiencing food shortages, and the majority of hospitals have shut down.
The Jeddah-mediated accord has as its main goals the admission of aid and the restoration of basic services. A sustainable peace agreement with civilian participation, according to mediators, would require further negotiations to demand the withdrawal of military from urban areas.
As plans for a new political transition toward elections under a civilian government were being made, the conflict in Khartoum broke out. The plans involved army leader Abdel Fattah Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
After previous leader Omar al-Bashir was deposed in a popular uprising in 2019, Burhan and Hemedti became the main posts on the Sudanese ruling council while sharing power with civilian organizations.
As the time for transferring control of the transition to civilians drew near in 2021, they attempted a coup.
Fighting has also resurfaced in western Darfur since last month, a region already ravaged by 20 years of conflict and turmoil that persisted despite a peace accord with some parties in 2020.
According to the World Health Organization, at least 705 people have died and at least 5,287 have been injured throughout Sudan; however, the actual death toll is thought to be far higher.
Reuters
