At least 185 people have been killed and a further 1,800 injured in three days of fighting between rival factions in Sudan, according to the United Nations special representative for Sudan, while the Group of Seven joined the call for an immediate end to hostilities.
“It’s a fluid situation so it’s very difficult to say where the balance is shifting,” Volker Perthes said Monday of the violence between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals.
Both sides used tanks, artillery and other heavy weapons in densely populated areas. Fighter jets thundered overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky as darkness fell.
Speaking to reporters in New York via video, Perthes also said the warring sides “do not give the impression that they want to mediate for peace between them immediately”.
The sudden outbreak of violence over the weekend between the country’s two top generals, each backed by thousands of armed fighters, trapped millions of people in their homes or wherever they were. find shelter, with supplies running low in many areas.
The power struggle pits General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the armed forces, against General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group. The former allies jointly orchestrated the October 2021 military coup.
“Guns and shootings are everywhere,” Awadeya Mahmoud Koko, head of a union for thousands of tea sellers and other food workers, said from his home in a southern district of Khartoum.
He said a shell hit a neighbor’s house on Sunday, killing at least three people. “We can’t take them to the hospital or bury them.”
The violence has raised the specter of civil war as the Sudanese try to revive the desire for a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule.
Called for a ceasefire
The United Nations, the United States and others have called for a ceasefire. Egypt, which backs Sudan’s military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – which have forged close ties with the RSF as it sends thousands of fighters to support the war in Yemen – have also called on both sides of the stop.
On Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called on the warring parties to “immediately stop hostilities” warning that further escalation “could be detrimental to the country and the region “.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was attending a Group of Seven meeting in Japan, spoke by phone with Burhan and Dagalo separately and stressed the urgency of reaching a ceasefire, according to by the State Department’s chief deputy spokesman, Vedant Patel.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, G7 foreign ministers condemned the fighting.
“We urge the parties to immediately end hostilities without pre-conditions,” it said, calling for them to return to negotiations and reduce tensions.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from the UN, says that various international players have been called to participate in a ceasefire. The UN Security Council is also scheduled to discuss the crisis.
“[The UN envoy to Sudan] believe that pressure from others is important. The African Union, regional grouping IGAD, Arab League, all these bodies are talking to different players and especially to the two generals, trying to get a ceasefire in place,” said Bays.
“There is talk of mediation missions … making their way as delegations to try to talk to the generals to try to get a ceasefire.
“The problem with that – the airspace is closed, the borders are closed and it is very dangerous for them to travel at this stage. Diplomatic efforts are ongoing, but they are not bearing much fruit at this time and it is clear that the people of Sudan are very worried.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese army declared the RSF a rebel group and ordered its disbandment on Monday.
As the fighting shows no sign of stopping, Dagalo took to Twitter to call on the international community to intervene against al-Burhan, labeling him a “radical Islamist who bombed civilians from in the air”.
In a rare statement since the fighting, al-Burhan told Al Jazeera on Saturday that he was “shocked by the Rapid Support Forces attacking his house” and that what happened “should prevent the formation of forces in except the army”.
Sudan’s doctors’ union warned that the fighting had “severely damaged” many hospitals in Khartoum and other cities, with some completely “out of service”.
The World Health Organization has already warned that several of Khartoum’s nine hospitals receiving wounded civilians are “running out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other essential supplies”.
Under lockdown
The violence has forced terrified people to shelter in their homes with fears of a protracted conflict that could plunge Sudan deeper into chaos, dashing hopes for a return to civilian life. rule interrupted by the 2021 coup orchestrated by al-Burhan and Dagalo.
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reporting from Khartoum, said she and her colleagues have not been able to go out for the past three days because “it is not clear which forces control the exact locations.
“Both sides are very difficult to negotiate with. We are talking about soldiers here, people on the ground – not senior commanders. Although we were able to talk to their leadership to understand what happened from their point of view , those on the ground didn’t necessarily agree with our move, so we’ve been locked down for the last three days,” Morgan said.
“It’s not just here where we’re facing lockdown, other parts of the capital as well – residents say they can’t leave their homes because of the insecurity they’re facing.”
The RSF was created under former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2013.
It emerged from the so-called Janjaweed militia that his government unleashed against non-Arab ethnic minorities in Darfur a decade ago, drawing accusations of war crimes.
The fighting erupted after bitter disagreements between al-Burhan and Dagalo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army – a key condition for a final deal aimed at ending a crisis. since the 2021 coup.
Both sides accuse each other of starting the fighting, and both claim to control key areas, including the airport and the presidential palace – neither of which can be independent. can be verified.