A truce begins, but Sudan’s brutal battles don’t end
Civilians remain trapped as foes blame each other
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Fighting raged in Sudan on Tuesday hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the cease-fire.
The humanitarian truce came after days of intense efforts by top diplomats on four continents and had raised hopes of sparing Africa’s third-largest country from civil war. But each side still appeared determined to vanquish the other, despite the suffering of millions of civilians trapped by the fighting.
Residents said they still heard gunfire and explosions in different parts of the capital, Khartoum, particularly around the military’s headquarters and the Republican Palace. They said few people had ventured out, though there were crowds outside some bakeries.
“The fighting remains underway,” Atiya Abdulla Atiya of the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate said. “We are hearing constant gunfire.”
Sudanese in the capital and in other cities have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as rival forces pounded residential areas with artillery and airstrikes and engaged in gun battles outside. Residents say dead bodies in the streets were unreachable because of clashes, with the toll likely to be far higher than the 185 dead reported by the UN since fighting began Saturday.
The conflict between the armed forces, led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has once again derailed Sudan’s transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.
Pro-democracy groups and political parties had recently reached an agreement with the two generals — who jointly led a 2021 coup — but it was never signed and is now in tatters.
The RSF immediately accused the military of violating the cease-fire after it came into effect at 6 p.m. local time. The army said the “rebellious militia” continued its attacks around the military headquarters and launched a failed attack on a military base to the south.
Atiya said the Fadil Hospital in Khartoum was hit by shelling after the truce took effect, damaging a medical gas pipeline and water systems. It’s one of at least 12 hospitals in and around the capital that have been forced to shut down because of the fighting, out of a total of around 20.
The US Embassy said late Tuesday that there has been “ongoing” fighting in Khartoum and surrounding areas, and advised Americans in Sudan to shelter in place. It said there were no immediate plans for a government coordinated evacuation.
Over the past day, fighters in Khartoum attacked an embassy convoy and stormed the home of the EU envoy to Sudan, though neither attack caused casualties. The convoy of US Embassy vehicles was clearly marked when it was attacked Monday, and preliminary reports link the assailants to the RSF, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Blinken spoke by phone late Monday separately with both generals, seeking a 24-hour halt in fighting as a foundation for a longer truce and return to negotiations.