DUBAI CITY, Dubai
Heavy clashes broke out between rival military factions in several parts of Sudan's capital on Wednesday as a 72-hour cease-fire that saw several reports of violations expired, witnesses said.
Shortly before the truce ended
at 0400 GMT, fighting was reported in all three of the cities that make up the
wider capital around the confluence of the Nile: Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman.
Sudan's army and the
paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been battling each other for more
than two months, wreaking destruction on the capital, triggering widespread
violence in the western region of Darfur and causing more than 2.5 million
people to flee their homes.
Witnesses said army aircraft
carried out air strikes in Bahri and the RSF responded with anti-aircraft fire.
They reported artillery fire and heavy clashes in Omdurman and ground fighting
in southern Khartoum.
Residents also reported
clashes near an army camp in South Kordofan State, where a large rebel force
that is not clearly aligned with either of the factions fighting in Khartoum
has been mobilizing.
The cease-fire was the latest
of several truce deals brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States at talks
in Jeddah.
As with previous cease-fires,
there were reports of violations by both sides.
Late on Tuesday, both factions
blamed the other for a large fire at the intelligence headquarters, which is
housed in a defense compound in central Khartoum that has been fought over
since the fighting erupted on April 15.
Saudi Arabia and the U.S. said
that if the warring factions failed to observe the cease-fire, they would
consider adjourning the Jeddah talks, which critics have questioned as
ineffective.
The conflict in Sudan erupted
amid disputes over internationally backed plans for a transition away from
military rule following a coup in 2021 and four years after long-ruling
autocrat Omar al-Bashir was ousted during a popular uprising.
No comments:
Post a Comment