Fighting between rival military units has resumed in Sudan after a brief overnight ceasefire. The capital Khartoum was bombed again on Saturday morning, said a reporter from the German Press Agency on site. Gunshots were also heard. Eyewitnesses reported explosions in Khartoum on Twitter.
A ceasefire that the conflicting parties agreed on Friday due to the celebrations to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan largely lasted through the night, the reporter said. There were only “sporadic clashes”.
Since last Saturday, the country’s army has been fighting for power against the once-allied paramilitary unit Rapid Support Forces (RSF). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 413 people have lost their lives and more than 3,500 have been injured since the fighting began. Eyewitnesses also reported explosions and shots in the capital Khartoum on Twitter last night.
The situation has been tense for a long time
In the south of north-east Africa, which has been politically unstable for years, de facto President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who is the commander-in-chief of the army, is fighting with his troops against his deputy Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, the leader of the powerful Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and his units for supremacy. The two men have led the gold and oil-rich country of around 46 million people since a joint military coup in 2019 and another in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Bundeswehr made preparations for a new attempt to evacuate German citizens, as a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said at the request of the German Press Agency. Details of the scope, personnel and material of possible Bundeswehr evacuation forces were not given. On Wednesday, an attempt at a diplomatic evacuation using Luftwaffe aircraft, but without any major deployment of soldiers, was aborted. The airport in the capital has been at the center of hostilities since the beginning of the conflict. Diplomats are scrambling for a resilient ceasefire for the evacuation.
international concern
According to media reports, Spain sent two air force transport planes to Africa to evacuate its citizens and some other Europeans and Latin Americans. One of the two A400M military transporters has already landed in Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, state TV broadcaster RTVE and other Spanish media reported yesterday. A third machine of the same type is ready in Spain. Each of the military aircraft can transport more than 100 people. There was initially no official confirmation. Djibouti is about 1,200 kilometers southeast of Khartoum.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said yesterday at the US Ramstein Air Force base in Rhineland-Palatinate that, given the ongoing unclear security situation, no decision had yet been made on a possible evacuation of US diplomats. Armed forces have been deployed to the region to ensure the US has “as many options as possible” if ordered. The Pentagon continues to monitor the situation very closely and is coordinating with the US State Department.
Despite the devastating situation in the country, the UN Special Envoy in Sudan, Volker Perthes, encouraged the Sudanese to celebrate the Islamic fast-breaking festival. Perthes said yesterday that he hopes that the country will overcome the crisis. The diplomat has headed a UN mission since 2021 to support Sudan in the political transition to democracy.
