KHARTOUM: The Sudanese army pounded paramilitaries in Khartoum with air strikes on Thursday while deadly fighting flared in Darfur, as Washington sought to extend an “imperfect” US-brokered ceasefire for three more days.

There have been multiple truce efforts since fighting broke out on April 15 between Sudan’s army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commanded by his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. All have failed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “very actively working to extend the ceasefire” between the warring generals. “We’ve had a 72-hour ceasefire, which like most ceasefires is imperfect but nonetheless has reduced violence. And that’s obviously created somewhat better conditions for people in Sudan,” he told reporters.

Burhan on Wednesday said he would consider a proposal by the East African IGAD bloc for another three-day ceasefire when the current truce formally expires at midnight (2200 GMT), but no further details have been released and the RSF’s response to the proposal is unclear.

UN says fighting disrupts food supply to 50,000 acutely malnourished children

On Thursday, warplanes patro­lled over the capital’s northern suburbs as fighters on the ground exchanged artillery and heavy machinegun fire, witnesses said.

At least 512 people have been killed and 4,193 wounded in the fighting, according to health ministry figures, although the real death toll is likely much higher.

Hospitals have been shelled and more than two-thirds are out of service, the doctors’ union said Thursday, reporting at least eight civilians killed in Khartoum alone on Wednesday.

Violence beyond Khartoum

Fighting has also flared in the provinces, particularly in the war-torn western region of Darfur. Witnesses said clashes raged for a second day in the West Darfur capital El Geneina, with pro-democracy medics reporting a doctor shot dead.

The UN humanitarian agency said the fighting in West Darfur had disrupted food to “an estimated 50,000 acutely malnourished children”.

The violence has trapped many civilians in their homes, where they have endured severe food, water and electricity shortages.

Those who can afford to have taken the long and risky journey to flee the country.

Egypt said on Thursday that at least 14,000 Sudanese refugees had crossed the border since fighting erupted, as well as 2,000 people from 50 other countries.

At least 20,000 people have escaped into Chad, 4,000 into South Sudan, 3,500 into Ethiopia and 3,000 into the Central African Republic, according to the UN, which has warned if fighting continues as many as 270,000 people could flee.

Foreign governments have scrambled to get thousands of their citizens out, and UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urged Britons to leave while they can. “We cannot guarantee how many further flights will depart once the ceasefire ends,” he said.

A Saudi evacuation ship docked in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on Thursday carrying 187 people from 25 countries, taking the total evacuated by Riyadh to 2,544, only 119 of them Saudis, the foreign ministry said.

Canada said Thursday it had completed its first military flight carrying evacuees, with Defence Minister Anita Anand calling the situation “very volatile”.

As lawlessness has gripped Sudan, there have been several jailbreaks, including from the high security Kober prison where top aides of ousted dictator Omar al-Bashir were held.

Among the escapees is Ahmed Harun, wanted by the International Criminal Court to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Harun’s escape sparked fears of the involvement of Bashir loyalists in the ongoing fighting.

The army said 79-year-old Bashir was in a military hospital, where he had been moved to before fighting erupted.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2023