Clashes continue in Sudan for the fifth day despite truce

Clashes between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR) continued today for the fifth consecutive day despite the 24-hour truce that came into effect at 6:00 p.m. local time (4:00 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday.

According to media and witnesses who have spoken with EFE, combats and shootings have been reported again this morning, especially in the vicinity of the General Command of the Armed Forces and the Presidential Palace, in the center of the capital.

Columns of dense smoke have also risen since the early hours of the day in the area of ​​the Khartoum International Airport, which military sources attributed to a fire caused by an attack by the FAR against the aircraft fuel warehouses at the airfield.

Furthermore, eyewitnesses have assured EFE that Army planes have bombed a FAR base today in the Kafuri neighborhood, in the north of Khartoum.
Mutual accusations

Both the army and the FAR have accused each other of violating the truce, the first of 24 hours since fighting began on Saturday, as well as attacking civilian facilities, including medical centers and markets in the capital and other regions of Sudan.
Sudanese walk with empty bottles and jerrycans in search of drinking water after supplies were affected by ongoing clashes between the Sudanese army and FAR paramilitaries in Khartoum. EFE/EPA/STR

The Army spokesman, Colonel Nabil Abdullah, again accused the “rebel forces” of the FAR of violating the truce, and of “moving in small groups without leadership or plan” as well as “carrying out looting operations in some neighborhoods of the capital and in the city of Merowe”, in the north of the country and bordering Egypt.

According to the military command, “for the fifth consecutive day, these rebel groups attacked the General Command (…) but they have been defeated and have suffered significant casualties, in addition to the destruction of several combat vehicles.”

The spokesperson pointed out that “it has been easy to bomb the concentrations of these rebel forces in the center of Khartoum and eliminate the rebellion in hours” and has reiterated the call to the FAR troops to surrender and hand themselves over to the Armed Forces.

For its part, the FAR affirms that the Army attacked “our troops with heavy weapons from the first hours of the truce, while the planes continued to attack civilian complexes, including hospitals,” as well as “water and electricity supply stations.”

Sudanese doctors put the number of civilian deaths at 174 since Saturday

The Sudanese Central Committee of Doctors reported today that since the start of the armed conflict last Saturday, at least 174 civilians have died, a figure lower than the 270 deaths revealed yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, this organization has specified that “there are a number of injuries and deaths that are not included in this report since it has not been possible to access hospitals due to the difficulty of movement and the security situation in the country.”

On the other hand, health sources warned about the serious humanitarian situation in the country and warned that more than half of the hospitals in Khartoum, and in neighboring states, are out of service, while the rest are at risk of closure due to lack of medical personnel and supplies, due to the fighting.

Also this Wednesday, an armed group forcibly took over the SOS Children’s Villages facilities in Khartoum, according to the NGO, which has managed to evacuate the minors under its care.

In total, 68 children, 11 caregivers and eight staff members have been evacuated “without incident” to a temporary residence in a “safe area” in the Sudanese capital. With EFE

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