The head of the Sudanese army, Abdel Fatah al Burhan, ruled out this Thursday negotiating with the leader of the paramilitarieson the sixth day of fighting that has already left hundreds dead in this extremely poor West African country.
Clashes broke out on Saturday between forces loyal to General Burhan and those of his former number two, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (FAR).
(Also: Five keys to understanding the violent fighting that put Sudan in check)
“I don’t think there is room for political negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces,” General Burhan told Al Jazeera, in his first intervention since the beginning of the uprising.
If General Daglo does not abandon his attempt to “want to control the country”, it will be “militarily crushed”warned the head of the army in a telephone interview with the Qatari chain.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the fighting has left “more than 330 dead and 3,200 wounded.”
(Read: Sudan: 24-hour ceasefire to treat wounded was violated in minutes)
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, urged a ceasefire “of at least three days” on the occasion of the celebration of Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting.
The United States announced that it had sent military reinforcements to the region to assist in the eventual evacuation of its embassy staff in Khartoum.
Hundreds of dead and thousands of people fleeing
In some downtown neighborhoods it smells of death and corpses
Thousands of people fled Khartoumto escape the shelling, shooting and clashes.
“In some downtown neighborhoods it smells of death and corpses,” said a resident of the capital, as he headed for a quieter area.
“At half past four in the morning we were awakened by the noise of air raids. We closed all the doors and windows, for fear of a stray bullet coming in,” said Nazek Abdalá, 38.
(More news: More than 100 killed in fighting between the army and paramilitaries in Sudan)
Many inhabitants had no choice but to flee on foot. because the price of gasoline skyrocketed: a liter of fuel now costs 10 dollars, in one of the poorest countries in the world.
70% of the 74 hospitals in Khartoum and the areas affected by the fighting have been out of service
The walkers must in many cases make your way through the corpses that lie on the edge of the streets and between charred tanks and trucks and avoid the most dangerous areas of the city, from where thick columns of black smoke rose.
“Children are sheltered in schools and nurseries, while the fighting rages around them, and children’s hospitals had to be evacuated, with the bombardments close by,” UNICEF warned.
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Between 10,000 and 20,000 Sudanese fled to neighboring Chad, according to teams from the UN Refugee Agency present at the border. “Most of the people arriving are women and children,” the organization said in a statement on Thursday.
broken truces
Since the struggle for power, which had been simmering for weeks between the two generals, degenerated on Saturday into an open battle, the confusion is total for the 45 million inhabitants of the country.
Both sides continue to promise truces that they never honor. In the rubble-strewn streets of Khartoum, it is impossible to know who controls the main institutions of the country.
Regular aviation, according to doctors, does not hesitate to bombard FAR bases scattered in populated areas of Khartoum, even though they are close to hospitals. In five days, “70% of the 74 hospitals in Khartoum and fighting-affected areas have been put out of service“, according to a union of doctors.
Several humanitarian organizations had to suspend their aid, crucial in a country where more than a third of the population goes hungry in normal times.
(You may be interested in: Sudan: two days of fighting between the army and paramilitaries leave 97 dead)
Egypt managed, thanks to the mediation of the United Arab Emirates, evacuate 177 of its soldiers who were at an air base from northern Sudan, both countries said.
Another 27 Egyptian soldiers, captured by paramilitaries, have been handed over to the Sudanese Red Cross and are awaiting repatriation, the Egyptian army said.
Looting and sexual violence
Three employees of the World Food Program (WFP) died in the Darfur region.
The UN also denounced “looting” of its reserves and “attacks”, including of a sexual nature, against its staff.
The outbreak of violence was the culmination of deep divisions between the army and the FAR, created in 2013 by then-autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir. Burhan and Daglo teamed up to oust Bashir in April 2019 following the massive popular protests against his three decades of rule.
In October 2021, the two men led a coup against the civilian government installed after the departure of Bashir and put an end to a transition supported by the international community.
AFP
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