Explosions and gunfire continue to rock Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, as fighting between rival generals continues without signs of abating.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the violence erupted last Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), resulting in over 300 deaths.
The RSF, a powerful force formed from members of the Janjaweed militia that led years of extreme violence in Darfur, had previously declared a ceasefire, but the fighting resumed.
Witnesses have reported gunfire in the streets, and columns of thick black smoke have been seen rising from buildings around Khartoum International Airport and the army headquarters in the capital.
The fighting has left many of the city’s five million residents without access to electricity, food, and water, with some of the fiercest battles taking place in Khartoum. There are reports of loud explosions in the city of Obeid, in the central state of North Kordofan, and at least nine children have been reported killed.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has suspended operations in Sudan after three of its workers were killed on Saturday, and the agency has warned that the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where already 15 million people, or one-third of the population, are facing food insecurity.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also confirmed that the fighting has taken a heavy toll on civilians across Sudan.
Despite the calls for a ceasefire and negotiations, Burhan dismissed any prospects for negotiations with Daglo, telling Al Jazeera on Thursday he sees no option but “decisive military” action.
“I do not think there is any room for talks over politics again with the Rapid Support Forces,” he told the Qatar-based broadcaster but said he was open to mediation.
