2023-04-22 03:08:59
The fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum on Friday subsided in the evening in places as calls for a ceasefire to let civilians and foreigners leave are increasing.
After the seventh day of clashes that left 413 dead and 3,551 injured, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world had pleaded for a truce on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday which marks the end of Ramadan and which started on Friday.
The FSR in the morning then the army in the evening announced that they accepted this pause in the fighting. But, as always for several days, the two camps accused each other of having broken the truce. During the night, however, witnesses in several districts of the capital said they heard no more explosions.
It was unclear whether this was the case across Khartoum, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken himself said it was “despite clear that the clash is continuing and there is no no trust between the two forces”.
The US State Department said Friday evening “currently not sure to undertake the evacuation of American employees” in particular because of “the closure of the international airport” of Khartoum – where the fighting began .
Immediately, the FSR – very active on social networks – replied that they were “ready to open all airports in Sudan” so that “friendly countries wishing to evacuate their nationals” might do so.
For seven days, the two camps have claimed to hold many strategic buildings, including the airport. But the air raids, crossfire and fighting are so intense that it is impossible to go and check on the spot.
Washington announced to send soldiers to the region to facilitate a possible evacuation; South Korea and Japan will send planes. The European Union is considering an evacuation as soon as possible by land.
This violence between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, de facto leader of Sudan since the putsch of 2021, and the FSRs of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo have “decommissioned 70% of hospitals in the combat zone”, reports the doctors’ union.
In Darfur, one of the poorest regions of Sudan – itself one of the poorest countries in the world – “the situation is catastrophic”, says a doctor from Médecins sans frontières (MSF).
– “Patients on the floor” –
“There are so many patients that they are treated on the floor in the corridors because there are simply not enough beds”, he says from this region where the Janjawid militiamen, the bulk of the FSR , committed horrific abuses during the Darfur civil war that began in 2003.
The International Committee of the Red Cross continues to call for “immediate and unhindered humanitarian access (…) an obligation under international humanitarian law”.
The WHO said early on Saturday that it had “verified 11 attacks on health services since the start of the conflict”, with facilities in the affected areas “almost non-functional due to staff fatigue and lack of of supplies”.
Long latent and confined to negotiations on the conditions of integration of the FSR into regular troops, to finalize a political agreement on the return of civilians to power, the conflict between the two generals turned into an armed struggle.
Diplomatic consultations are intensifying: British Foreign Minister James Cleverly has cut short a tour of Asia-Pacific “because of the situation in Sudan”.
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken called for a ceasefire for “at least” the three days of Eid.
General Daglo said in an online statement on Saturday that he had “discussed the current crisis” with Mr. Guterres and that he had “focused on the humanitarian truce, safe passages and the protection of humanitarian workers”. .
The leader of the FSR had been General Burhane’s number two since the putsch of October 2021. The latter appeared Thursday for the first time since the start of hostilities on state television.
“For Eid, our country is bleeding: destruction, desolation and the sound of bullets have taken precedence over joy,” he said. So far, like his rival, General Daglo, he had only spoken to the media and had not directly addressed the 45 million Sudanese.
– Corpses on the roads –
Women and children mainly throng the roads to flee, between checkpoints and corpses.
Since the outbreak of hostilities, 10,000 to 20,000 people, mostly women and children, have crossed into neighboring Chad, according to the UN.
Aid workers were mostly forced to suspend aid following three World Food Program (WFP) staff were killed.
On Friday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced the death of a humanitarian from this UN agency, victim of an exchange of fire south of al Obeid.
“Neither Burhane nor Daglo seem to want to give in, the situation might get even worse,” said the International Crisis Group (ICG) research center.
“A long-term conflict would be the ruin of Sudan”, the third largest gold producer in Africa where more than a third of the population suffers from hunger, adds the ICG.
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