Sudan fighting hampers aid efforts

UN says country faces a catastrophe

CAIRO — Heavy shelling in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Thursday disrupted efforts to deliver badly needed aid to trapped civilians, after yet another fragile and frequently violated truce ran out, residents said.

Sudan has plunged into chaos since fighting erupted in mid-April between the country’s two rival top generals. There is increasing concern for those trapped and displaced by the fighting, and aid workers and civilians have said there’s a dire lack of basic services, medical care, food, and water.

In central areas of Khartoum, sporadic explosions could be heard Thursday, a day after the United Nations warned that the Sudanese people are “facing a humanitarian catastrophe,” and after the latest in a series of cease-fires expired earlier in the day.

“The situation is very dire,” said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, who leads a key doctors union. “All forms of shelling can still be heard in Khartoum, whether air or artillery shelling.”

Black plumes of smoke rising from downtown neighborhoods dotted the skyline at midday. The fighting raised questions about the viability of internationally backed initiatives seeking to bring an end to the violence that has upended the country’s transition to democracy.

The conflict started on April 15, preceded by months of escalating tensions between the military, led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and a rival paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting turned urban areas into battlefields, and foreign governments rushed to evacuate their diplomats and thousands of foreign nationals out of the country.

Both sides have traded accusations of truce violations over the past weeks. On Thursday, each side claimed its forces were the subject of attacks. The military said late Wednesday it clashed with RSF forces around key government institutions in Khartoum, including the Republican Palace in the capital’s center.

Cease-fire initiatives put forward by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the East African bloc known as IGAD have all floated a path towards conducting longer negotiations. But the warring sides have shown little commitment to even shortterm promises to stop the fighting.