UN warns Sudan at ‘breaking point’
KHARTOUM: Fierce fighting broke out again on Monday (May 1) between Sudan’s army and paramilitaries despite the formal extension of a truce, after the United Nations warned the humanitarian situation reached “breaking point”, AFP news agency reported.
More than 500 people have been killed since battles erupted on Apr 15 between Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who leads the regular army, and his ex-deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Millions of Sudanese around the capital have since hidden in their homes with dwindling food, water, and electricity as warplanes on bombing raids have drawn heavy fire from anti-aircraft guns. “Warplanes are flying over southern Khartoum and anti-aircraft guns are firing at it,” said one resident, while another witness told AFP he was also hearing “loud gunfire” in the area. Burhan and Daglo have agreed multiple, poorly observed ceasefires, and extended the latest formal truce on Sunday by 72 hours, with each side repeatedly blaming the other for the frequent violations.
Millions of Sudanese are trapped in the country, where aid workers are among the dead, humanitarian facilities have been looted, and foreign aid groups have been forced to essentially halt all aid operations.
Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths said on Sunday he was heading to the region to help “bring immediate relief to the millions of people whose lives have turned upside down overnight”.
“The humanitarian situation is reaching breaking point,” he said. “Goods essential for people’s survival are becoming scarce in the hardest-hit urban centres, especially Khartoum.”
“The cost of transportation out of worst-hit areas has risen exponentially, leaving the most vulnerable unable to locate to safer areas.” About 50,000 people have fled the raging conflict, seeking refuge in neighbouring countries including Chad, Egypt, and the Central African Republic, said the UN refugee agency. The fighting has also triggered a mass exodus of foreigners and international staff, with countries the world over launching frantic evacuations by land, sea, and air.
Daglo’s RSF is descended from the Janjaweed unleashed by former strongman Omar al-Bashir in Sudan’s Darfur region, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.
Further complicating the battlefield, Central Reserve Police were being deployed across Khartoum to “protect citizens’ properties” from looting, the Sudanese police said, confirming an army statement.
The RSF had warned police against joining the fight.
The US Treasury Department last year sanctioned the Central Reserve for “serious human rights abuses” related to its use of “excessive force” against pro-democracy protests after the October 2021 coup that brought Burhan and Daglo to power.
