Sudan’s warring factions accused each other on Thursday of being behind violations of the latest ceasefire negotiated by the US and Saudi Arabia, now in its third day.
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The week-long ceasefire was violated just minutes after it began on Monday night, with residents of the capital Khartoum reporting air strikes and artillery fire that rocked the city.
Since then there have been further violations of the ceasefire agreement, which was intended to allow much-needed humanitarian aid to reach war-torn parts of the north African country.
This is the latest in a series of cease-fires that have been systematically violated by all.
Since April 15, in Sudan The capital and other parts of the country are engulfed in brutal urban warfare between the regular army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
But although the current ceasefire has been violated, it has allowed a lull in the fighting that has seen terrified residents cautiously emerge from their homes, some for the first time in weeks.
Many are scrambling for food and water supplies or to seek much-needed medical attention after nearly six weeks of fighting has severely depleted vital supplies and pushed the health care system to the brink. to collapse.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the RSF, led by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, sought to blame the ceasefire violations on the army led by in Sudan de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
The army “launched a series of unjustified attacks today”, the RSF said, adding that “our forces decisively repelled these attacks”.
“Our forces have successfully shot down a SAF MiG jet fighter,” it said, reiterating though that it remains “committed to humanitarian truce”.
The army responded Thursday morning, saying it “contested an attack on armored vehicles by the militias of the Rapid Support Forces in a clear violation of the truce”.
The United States, which shared the ceasefire with Saudi Arabia, warned the warring parties against any further violations.
The State Department said observers noted the use of artillery, drones and military aircraft as well as fighting in the capital Khartoum and the western region of Darfur.
“We continue to look at ceasefire violations,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
“We retain our sanctions authority and when appropriate we will not hesitate to exercise that authority.”
The UN ambassador for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Tetteh, said the ongoing fighting was “unacceptable and it must stop”.
‘Frustrating failure’
Much-needed aid has yet to reach the capital despite the easing of fighting.
The conflict has so far killed more than 1,800 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
More than a million Sudanese people have been displaced, in addition to 300,000 who have fled to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations.
The situation is particularly alarming in Darfur, already ravaged by a conflict that erupted in 2003 and saw then-President Omar al-Bashir unleash the dreaded Janjaweed militia to crush a rebellion by ethnic minority groups.
The RSF traces its origins to the Janjaweed.
The UN refugee coordinator in SudanToby Harward, said the town of Zalengei in Central Darfur state “has been under siege by armed militias for the last few days”.
Many facilities were “attacked and looted, civilians were unable to seek medical care because health care facilities were targeted, and motorcycle gangs terrorized government workers and prevented civilian movement”, he added.
Representatives of the warring Sudanese generals have since early May been involved in negotiations in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
But analysts have repeatedly warned that the two generals may be preparing for a protracted conflict.
Sudan expert Alex de Waal described the conflict as the result of a “catastrophic failure of diplomacy”.
Burhan and Daglo in 2021 staged a coup that ousted a civilian transitional government but later fell into a bitter power struggle.
(AFP)
