AID GROUPS SEEK ACCESS TO CIVILIANS AMID SUDAN CHAOS
▶ WHO issues warning over medical supply shortages, as death toll from fighting passes 250
As the fourth day of conflict in Sudan drew to a close yesterday with about 270 dead and a shaky ceasefire in place, aid agencies pleaded for better access to civilians.
The 24-hour ceasefire began at 6pm local time, but hours later civilians reported blasts in the capital Khartoum.
The International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan said thousands were trapped in their homes while fighting took place on the streets, and civilians risked running out of supplies.
ICRC Sudan spokesman Germain Mwehu told The National the military and Rapid Support Forces must allow humanitarian agencies to do their work and “allow ambulances and health workers and those working for water and electricity sectors to move in the city”. The UN said its 4,000 staff in the country were unable to work properly.
As electricity and water cuts continued, the World Health Organisation issued a warning about the quality of care the health sector was able to provide, as hospitals were inundated with hundreds of injured.
Many of Khartoum’s nine hospitals treating injured civilians are reporting shortages of crucial supplies including blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids and other life-saving equipment, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.
The organisation condemned attacks on health infrastructure in Sudan. Ms Harris said three cases had been documented but that WHO staff knew of “many more”.
“The parties must ensure that care can be provided and it can’t be if staff and ambulances and supplies cannot be moved around safely,” she said. Care International said it was deeply concerned about the safety of communities.
“Women and girls are disproportionately affected by violence, especially when forced to flee from their homes and communities. This leaves them vulnerable to further harm,” said Kate Maina-Vorley, Care International regional director for East and Central Africa.
A ceasefire agreed between warring parties in Sudan yesterday was under threat as civilians reported explosions in the capital Khartoum.
The 24-hour ceasefire began at 6pm local time, but hours later gunfire continued to be heard across the city.
Fighting since Saturday has plunged Khartoum and other cities in Sudan into chaos.
Millions of Sudanese have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as two military forces battle for control, with each general insisting he will crush the other.
The Ministry of Health reported that 270 people had been killed and more than 2,600 injured in the fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Yesterday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, warned that the conflict was placing unbearable strain on the health service.
“Sudan’s Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Centre reports 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 people have been injured,” Dr Tedros said.
“The heaviest fighting is currently in Khartoum. Movement has been restricted due to insecurity, creating challenges for health workers and ambulances to reach health facilities, and putting further lives at risk.”
The army said it was fighting against a “militia” that had committed “crimes against humanity”, but it was “open to peace and negotiating peace at all stages of this very dire times for our people”.
The Ministry of Health’s casualty figures were higher than those released by a medical group associated with Sudan’s pro-democracy movement.
The Central Committee of Sudan’s Doctors said 144 civilians had been killed and 1,409 people, including personnel from the warring sides, injured.
As well as in Khartoum, there is fighting in cities across the vast Afro-Arab nation of about 45 million.
Yesterday, parts of the capital were without water or power. The streets were deserted and most shops were closed.
Petrol stations were closed and thousands of residents were leaving town to spend the Eid Al Fitr holiday in their hometowns and villages.
Fighting resumed at first light. Terrified residents reported the thud of artillery shells and heavy gunfire as each side claimed to have made battlefield gains.
Clouds of black smoke hung over much of Khartoum, residents said.
A US diplomatic convoy came under fire, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He said initial reports suggested that the attack on the convoy was carried out by forces associated with the RSF.
In another incident, the home of EU ambassador to Sudan, Aidan O’Hara, was attacked by unknown assailants.
Mr O’Hara was reportedly assaulted but was “OK” and had been moved to safety, according to the UN.
Few details were available about the two incidents which, if repeated, could lead to a withdrawal of foreign diplomats and UN workers from the country.
Khartoum International Airport, held by the RSF but besieged by army troops, remained closed yesterday for a fourth day.
A senior military intelligence officer told that
RSF forces at the airport were holding civilians hostage, using them as human shields to avoid an army assault.
Gen Mohamed Dagalo, the RSF commander, was based in an area near the airport, he said. His claims could not immediately be verified.
Yesterday, the RSF said it was fighting to restore the rights of the Sudanese people.
“A new revolution began on Saturday and achieved successive victories and continuing to do so to reach its noble goals, foremost of which is a civilian government that steers us towards a genuine shift to democratic rule,” it said.
The statement was the latest bid by the RSF to align itself with the powerful pro-democracy movement.
The RSF grew from the feared Janjaweed militias that fought on the government’s side during the Darfur civil war in the 2000s and was accused of atrocities against civilians.
The paramilitary force is also widely suspected to have been the main participant in the violent break-up of a protesters’ sit- in camp outside the armed forces’ headquarters in June 2019.
At least 100 people were killed, with some of the bodies thrown into the Nile. Scores remain missing.
The fighting is by far the worst in Khartoum, a city of nearly seven million people on the Blue and White Niles. Sudan has a history of military coups, some violent, but the capital has never been the scene of fighting of this magnitude.
The warring sides are using tanks, artillery and rockets.
Terrified residents reported shelling and heavy gunfire as each side claimed to have made battlefield gains
The military is using fighter jets to bomb RSF bases and positions across the city.
Late on Monday, the military advised residents to remain at home, warning that it was preparing to escalate its offensive against the RSF.
Neither the army nor the RSF has released casualty figures, but each is believed to have lost scores of soldiers.
Sudan’s army chief, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, said on Monday that he was open to negotiations to end the fighting, in a shift away from his categorical refusal earlier to negotiate with the RSF and Gen Dagalo, better known by the nickname Hemedti.
The reluctance of the RSF to meet demands by Gen Al Burhan and civilian politicians that the paramilitary group integrates into the armed forces is at the heart of the conflict.
It is the only remaining obstacle to the settlement of a long- running political crisis to restore Sudan’s democratic transition, upended by a 2021 military takeover led by Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo. The fighting has continued despite calls for a ceasefire by world powers and regional heavyweights including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“The situation has already led to horrendous loss of life, including many civilians,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Monday, as he appealed for a ceasefire and dialogue.
The fighting began in the final 10 days of Ramadan. Eid Al Fitr, the holiday that signals the end of the holy month, falls at the end of this week.