Fighting continued in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, on Tuesday evening, despite a 24-hour ceasefire pledge by the military and a rival paramilitary group.
Witnesses reported hearing explosions and shooting in multiple parts of the city after the declared 6 p.m. start of the ceasefire. Atiya Abdulla Atiya of the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate confirmed that the fighting remained underway. “We are hearing constant gunfire,” he said.
The pledges for a ceasefire came after four days of fighting that have forced many Khartoum residents to shelter in their homes. The United States, United Nations, and African leaders have all called for an end to the violence.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of Sudan’s armed forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and urged them to halt the fighting, in part to permit the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Blinken’s call was one of many from the international community urging peace in the North African country. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations, meeting in Karuizawa, Japan, issued a communique condemning the fighting.
The communique called on all actors to renounce violence, return to negotiations, and take active steps to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians, including diplomatic and humanitarian personnel.
Sudan’s hospitals in chaos
The sudden outbreak of fighting has thrown Khartoum’s hospitals into chaos. More than 185 people have been killed, and over 1,800 wounded since the fighting erupted, according to United Nations figures.
At the Ahmed Qassem children hospital, medical staff had to evacuate all cases except the ones in the intensive care unit. Supplies were running low, with doctors, nurses, patients, and their relatives trapped inside for days as the Sudanese capital turned into a war zone.
“There is a shortage in staff, medicine and oxygen. The hospital is witnessing a shortage in many things, and even the doctors have left,” said Dr. Mohamed al-Mostafa. There are some 20 hospitals in the capital and the neighboring city of Omdurman.
Those that still managed to operate were understaffed and overwhelmed, running low on supplies and struggling with power or water cuts, doctors said.
The World Health Organization said many hospitals in Khartoum reported shortages of “blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, medical supplies, and other life-saving commodities.”
The situation in the hospitals is dire, and the ongoing fighting makes it difficult to provide medical assistance to those who need it. The Al-Shaab Teaching Hospital shut down on Monday after a ward was struck in the fighting, said the general manager, Al Nameir Gibril Ibrahim.
The fighting in Khartoum has put the lives of millions of people at risk. The international community has called for an immediate end to the hostilities and urged all parties to return to negotiations.
The situation in the city remains tense, with the sound of gunfire echoing through the streets. The hope is that the ceasefire pledge will be honoured, and the people of Khartoum can finally start to rebuild their lives.
The current conflict was sparked by a dispute between the two generals over the handling of a rebellion in the country’s restive Darfur region.
The rebellion was led by a faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, which was one of the main groups that fought the government during the Darfur conflict in the early 2000s.
The fighting has also raised concerns about the future of Sudan’s peace process with rebels in other parts of the country.
The transitional government has been working to negotiate peace agreements with rebel groups in Darfur, as well as in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan regions. These agreements were seen as a critical step in ending years of conflict and instability in the country.