Despite a new ceasefire, fighting has broken out again in the crisis-ridden country of Sudan. Eyewitnesses reported that the capital Khartoum in particular was again under heavy shelling. A second 72-hour ceasefire had come into effect earlier that night.
A Turkish C-130 transport aircraft was fired on with light weapons in the morning. As the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter, the machine was on its way to the Wadi Seidna military airport in northern Khartoum to evacuate Turkish citizens. The plane landed safely despite the shelling. There are no injuries, the plane is being checked for damage.
Prisoners escaped from several prisons
The UN human rights office fears additional violence in Sudan because possible war criminals could have been released from prisons. In the past few days, prisoners have been broken out of or released from several prisons, a spokeswoman said on Friday in Geneva. That could reignite ethnic tensions that have existed in Sudan for a long time. There have already been clashes among communities in the West Darfur region. According to the UN Human Rights Office, at least 96 people have died there since April 24.
At least 113 aid workers were flown from neighboring North Darfur to neighboring Chad, the region’s governor, Nimir Mohamed Abdel Rahman, told the German Press Agency on Friday. Among others, employees of the World Food Program, Unicef, the UN mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) and the Norwegian refugee agency were evacuated.
At least 512 dead, nearly 4,200 injured
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 512 people were killed and almost 4,200 injured in the fighting in Sudan. The true number of victims is likely to be significantly higher.
The first 72-hour ceasefire expired on Thursday evening. This also only lasted sporadically. Nevertheless, thousands of civilians were able to flee to neighboring countries during this period. Several countries evacuated their nationals and other people from the crisis country. However, on Thursday the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF first agreed to negotiations in Juba, the capital of neighboring South Sudan.
Pistorius receives soldiers
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) and the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, wanted to receive the soldiers of the Bundeswehr, who had flown more than 700 people out of Sudan, in Wunstorf near Hanover early on Friday evening. Their performance is to be honored with a so-called returnee appeal. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) is expected as a guest, as are members of the Bundestag from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committees.
From Sunday to Wednesday, the Bundeswehr, in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Police, said it had flown more than 700 people from more than 40 nations out of the embattled Sudan. Among them were more than 200 Germans. At times around 1,000 soldiers were involved in the evacuation operation. The Bundestag had subsequently approved the deployment of the Bundeswehr on Wednesday with an unusually clear majority.
