Sudan fighting continues despite ceasefire, army agrees to help evacuate foreigners

After a week of fighting that killed hundreds, Sudan’s army agreed to help evacuate foreign nationals on Saturday.

After Hemedti promised to open airports for evacuations, army chief Abdel Fatteh al-Burhan issued the announcement.

A Reuters journalist in Khartoum said that overnight violence slowed on Saturday morning. Regional news channels broadcast smoke and explosions.

The army and paramilitary RSF, which are fighting a violent power struggle across the country, had both announced a three-day ceasefire from Friday for Islam’s Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Sudan’s rapid fall into battle has crushed attempts to restore civilian authority, brought an impoverished country to the brink of humanitarian catastrophe, and threatened a wider conflict that might pull in outside powers.

No side has shown a willingness to negotiate or win quickly. The army has air power, but the RSF is deeply planted in urban areas, notably around important installations in central Khartoum.

Burhan and Hemedti led a ruling council that oversaw a 2021 coup’s political transition to civilian power and the RSF’s absorption into the army.

On Friday, the WHO reported 413 deaths and 3,551 injuries since combat began. Five relief workers died in a food-dependent country.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged them to observe the ceasefire.

The U.S. and others are preparing to flee. The army stated the US, UK, France, and China would remove diplomats and others from Khartoum “in the coming hours”.

The army said Saudi Arabia’s embassy had been evacuated by land to Port Sudan and flown out, and Jordan’s would follow.

RSF chief Hemedti posted on Facebook early Saturday that he had spoken to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who “emphasised the necessity of adhering to a complete ceasefire and providing protection for humanitarian and medical workers”.

The RSF offered to partially open all airports for evacuations. Khartoum’s international airport is in conflict, and RSF’s authority over other airports is unknown.

Hospitals hit
Detainees in Sudan’s largest prison, al-Huda, worried Omdurman, one of Khartoum’s sister cities.

The RSF denied invading the prison Friday after the army accused it. An armed squad violently departed the facility, leaving the captives’ location unknown, according to a prisoner’s lawyers.

The Sudanese doctors organization reported early Saturday that more than two thirds of conflict-zone hospitals were closed, with 32 forcefully evacuated by military or trapped in crossfire.

Some hospitals, without water, staff, and electricity, merely provided first assistance. Social media users urgently requested medical aid, hospital transport, and prescription medication.

After days stuck in their houses or local areas under shelling and with fighters roaming the streets, many Khartoum residents may hurry to flee the conflict on Saturday if fighting eases.

Sudan borders seven nations, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and the volatile Sahel. Hostilities might escalate regional tensions.

Disagreement over an internationally supported proposal to build a new civilian government four years after the collapse of tyrant Omar al-Bashir and two years after the military coup sparked the bloodshed.

Both parties claim the other thwarted the changeover.