Intense fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary force has killed at least 185 people and injured more than 1,800 amid reports of gunfire, explosions and overhead fighter jets were heard across Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Tuesday.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) cited Sudan’s Ministry of Health and said that at least 270 people had been killed and 2,600 others injured in the fighting.
Sudan, a country with a long history of coups, is witnessing what the United Nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system.
The Doctors Syndicate Steering Committee in Sudan reported that 16 hospitals in Khartoum and other cities across the country are out of service, some of which have been bombed. The hospitals are facing severe shortages of medical staff, and supplies, including water, food, and fuel for generators.
Offices belonging to the UN, its partners, multiple diplomats and humanitarian workers have been caught in the crossfire or looted in Khartoum and other places. Reports suggested that the EU’s ambassador in Sudan, Aidan O’Hara, has been assaulted at his home in the capital Khartoum.
What is happening in Sudan?
Sudan has been gripped for days by deadly fighting between two military factions during a political transition.
The clashes are part of a power struggle between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the transitional council, and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council. The two are locked in a power struggle that turned violent on April 15, 2023.
Since a military coup in 2021, Sudan has been under the control of the army, with General Abdel-Fattah Burhan as the de facto ruler. Burhan and his deputy, Hemedti, who leads the paramiliatry RSF, have no intention of relinquishing power and are locked in a power struggle. This struggle turned violent on April 15, 2023, with members of the RSF and Sudanese army engaging in gunfights in the capital and other parts of the country.
The violence has been brewing but the recent clashes erupted over a disagreement over how RSF should be incorporated into the Sudanese army, with concerns over the RSF seeking control over the country’s economic assets, including gold mines. These developments threaten the stability of Sudan and its transition to democratic rule.
Global calls for ceasefire
United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and China as well as the UN, European Union, and African Union, have all called for an immediate end to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the U.S. held a trilateral call to discuss the ongoing situation in Sudan. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is attending a G7 meeting in Japan, spoke by phone with Burhan and Dagalo separately and underscored the urgency of reaching a ceasefire, according to the State Department.
The international community, including the UN, the Arab League, the US, UK, and the EU have called for an end to the violence that erupted in Sudan after a fallout between rival military leaders ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/IBCC8DsPvb
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 18, 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres again called on the warring parties to “immediately cease hostilities” warning that further escalation “could be devastating for the country and the region”.
The G7 foreign ministers condemned the fighting and urged the parties to end hostilities immediately without pre-conditions.
Clashes continue despite ceasefire
Four days after violence erupted, the Sudanese army reportedly agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire starting on April 18 evening. Local analysts confirmed to media that both sides agreed to the ceasefire due to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions.
Some reports suggested that fighting has continued despite the ceasefire.