Khartoum, Sudan
Reuters
A week-long ceasefire in Sudan got off to a shaky start on Monday as witnesses in the capital Khartoum reported fighter jets flights over the city and continued fighting in some areas.
Heavy bombardments could be heard in east Khartoum, witnesses said, and one resident shared a picture of thick black smoke rising into the sky. In Omdurman and Bahri, Khartoum’s twin cities, people said they heard sounds of weapons firing.
A view of makeshift shelters of Sudanese people who fled the conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region and were previously internally displaced in Sudan, near the border between Sudan and Chad, in Borota, Chad, on 13th May, 2023. PICTURE: Reuters/Zohra Bensemra
After five weeks of fierce battles between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the warring factions on Saturday agreed to a seven-day truce starting at 9:45pm on Monday that was intended to allow for the delivery of aid.
In the hours before the ceasefire went into effect, the army conducted heavy air strikes across the capital Khartoum against its paramilitary rivals.
Although fighting has continued through previous ceasefires, this was the first to be formally agreed following negotiations.
The ceasefire deal includes for the first time a monitoring mechanism involving the army and the RSF as well as representatives from Saudi Arabia and the United States, which brokered the agreement after talks in Jeddah.
Shortly before the ceasefire was due to take effect, the RSF released an audio message from its commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, in which he thanked Saudi Arabia and the US but urged his men on to victory.
“We will not retreat until we end this coup,” he said.
Both sides accused each other of an attempted power grab at the start of the conflict on 15th April.
The ceasefire deal has raised hopes of a pause in a war that has driven nearly 1.1 million people from their homes, including more than 250,000 who have fled into neighbouring countries, threatening to destabilise a volatile region.
It should allow civilians to move and give access for humanitarian aid, said Volker Perthes, the UN special representative to Sudan.
“This is a welcome development, though the fighting and troop movements have continued even today, despite a commitment of both sides not to pursue military advantage before the ceasefire takes effect,” he told the UN Security Council in New York.
– With ADAM MAKARY in Cairo, Egypt
OVER 60,000 HAVE FLED TO CHAD FROM SUDAN SINCE CONFLICT STARTED – UNHCR
Between 60,000 and 90,000 people have fled from Sudan to neighbouring Chad since violence erupted last month, the UN refugee agency said on Monday.
More than 250,000 people have crossed the borders to neighbouring countries since the conflict broke out, with more expected to flee as fighting continues.
“Almost 90% of new arrivals are women and children. Many have been sheltering under trees in makeshift shelters with very limited services,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Raouf Mazou after a four-day visit to Chad.
“As the rainy season approaches, we urgently need to relocate new arrivals to the nearest refugee camps,” he said in a statement issued in N’Djamena.
The new arrivals have added to around 600,000 mostly Sudanese refugees already present in Chad after fleeing previous conflicts.
Chad is now hosting almost 700,000 refugees in total, the UNHCR said, urging more international support for displaced people from Sudan.
The UN Food Programme said earlier this month that it needed $US162.4 million to support the government of Chad in assisting 2.3 million people in urgent need of food.
– SOFIA CHRISTENSEN, Dakar, Senegal/Reuters
