Khartoum was calmer yesterday as a seven-day ceasefire appeared to reduce fighting between two rival military factions although it has not yet provided the promised humanitarian relief to millions trapped in the Sudanese capital.
A truce signed on Monday by the two fighting parties – Sudan’s army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – aimed to secure safe passage for humanitarian aid and lead to wider talks sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the US.
The conflict, which erupted on April 15, has killed at least 730 civilians and caused 1.3 million Sudanese to leave their homes, fleeting either abroad or to safer parts of the country.
Witnesses said yesterday that Khartoum was calmer, although sporadic clashes were reported in the afternoon and evening in the city’s southern districts and across the Nile in western Omdurman, a key entrypoint to the capital.
In a statement, the RSF accused the army of violating the ceasefire and destroying the country’s mint in an air strike. The army had accused the RSF on Friday of targeting the mint.
It also last night said it would engage in talks aimed at extending the ceasefire, which is due to end tonight.
The army said meanwhile that its call on Friday for army reservists was a partial mobilisation and constitutional measure, adding that it expected large numbers to respond to the call.
Those who remain in Khartoum are struggling with failures of services such as electricity, water and phone networks. Looters have ransacked homes, mostly in well-off neighbourhoods. Food supplies are dwindling.
Sudanese police said they were expanding deployment and also called in able retired officers to help.
“Our neighbourhood has become a war zone. Services have collapsed and chaos has spread in Khartoum,” said 52-year-old Ahmed Salih, a resident of the city.
“No one is bothered to help the Sudanese people, neither the government nor internationally.”
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