Khartoum (Agencies)
Clashes took place between the two parties to the conflict in Sudan, yesterday, in Khartoum, after the suspension of talks aimed at maintaining the ceasefire and alleviating a humanitarian crisis, which prompted the United States to impose sanctions.
Residents of Khartoum and Omdurman confirmed the continuation of clashes between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
“We have been suffering greatly from the confrontations, and since the morning there have been violent sounds. We are living in terror. This is a real nightmare,” said Shihab al-Din Abdul Rahman, 31, from a neighborhood south of the capital.
Seven weeks of fighting have devastated areas in central Khartoum and threatened to destabilize the wider region, displacing 1.2 million people within Sudan and 400,000 fleeing to neighboring countries.
The United States and Saudi Arabia suspended truce talks on Monday after a ceasefire they had brokered collapsed.
A senior US official said Washington had imposed sanctions on companies affiliated with the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and threatened further measures “if the two sides continue” to fight. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said yesterday that more than 100,000 have fled attacks by armed groups in West Darfur to neighboring Chad since the start of the recent fighting, adding that the number may double in the next three months.
Aid workers in Sudan say heavy fighting and bureaucratic red tape are hampering their efforts to deliver vital humanitarian aid to the millions of people who now depend on aid efforts since the conflict erupted in mid-April.
The United Nations estimates that 25 million people, or more than half the population, need aid right now, up from 16 million before the fighting began.
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