Heavy gunfire in Sudan as Eid ceasefire calls ignored

More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted on Saturday

Sudan’s warring forces battled on Friday with heavy gunfire and explosions in the capital Khartoum and elsewhere in the country, as they ignored appeals by world powers for an end-of-Ramazan ceasefire.

More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted Saturday between forces loyal to Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, the commander of the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who is commonly known as Hemeti.

The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors said that overnight, as the Eidul Fitr celebrations marking the end of Ramazan began, “several areas of Khartoum were bombed” and reported “shelling and clashes” for the sixth straight night.

 

Screengrab showing an April 21 Facebook post by the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors. — Facebook/Sudandoctorscommittee

Khartoum has seen some of the fiercest fighting with air strikes and tanks firing in densely packed districts, with most of its five million people sheltering at home in baking heat without electricity, food or water. Communications are heavily disrupted.

Both UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US State Secretary Antony Blinken called separately for a ceasefire of “at least” three days to mark Eid, as explosions and gunfire resounded in Khartoum.

Humanitarian operations in Sudan are virtually impossible at this moment.

Warehouses, vehicles and other humanitarian assets have been attacked, looted and seized.

Targeting humanitarian workers and humanitarian assets must end.

They are #NotATarget. pic.twitter.com/MYww7nHHQ1

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 20, 2023

Met virtually with the AU Chairman and other global leaders who all agreed that an Eid al-Fitr ceasefire is urgently needed in Sudan. Spoke with SAF General Burhan and RSF General Hemedti to urge an Eid ceasefire and an end to indiscriminate attacks against civilians.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) April 21, 2023

The RSF, a powerful force formed from members of the Janjaweed militia that led years of extreme violence in the western Darfur region, said they would commit to a 72-hour ceasefire starting at dawn (4am GMT).

But, like two previously declared 24-hour ceasefires, it failed to take hold.

In The Name Of God, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful
Command Of The Rapid Support Forces

Important statement

Friday, 21 April 2023,

At this moment, when citizens are preparing to receive the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the neighborhoods of Khartoum are waking up to the… pic.twitter.com/PDjnq7qeJQ

— Rapid Support Forces - قوات الدعم السريع (@RSFSudan) April 21, 2023

The crackle of intense gunfire continued Friday morning, with columns of black smoke rising across the capital.

‘Nightmare scenario’

Dozens of Sudanese army supporters protest against the United Arab Emirates’ influence in internal Sudanese politics in Port Sudan on April 20, 2023. Arabic slogan on the banner over a crossed picture of the Emirati ambassador in Sudan reads: “The people of (Sudan’s) Red Sea state reject the presence of the UAE ambassador in eastern Sudan. No to the foreign interference in the country’s affairs.” — AFP

On Thursday, dozens of Burhan loyalists protested in Port Sudan against the presence of the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, which has been accused of links to Daglo.

“No to the foreign interference in the country’s affairs,” read a banner they carried.

Analysts have warned of countries across the region being dragged into the conflict.

For the first time since hostilities began a week ago, Burhan appeared on television.

“For Eid this year, our country is bleeding: destruction, desolation and the sound of bullets have taken precedence over joy,” he said in a pre-recorded video, which showed him sitting behind a desk in military uniform.

Sudan's Rapid Support Forces said it was ready for a 72-hour ceasefire on Friday, but residents in the capital, Khartoum, and neighbouring cities are reporting gunfire.

🔴 Follow our LIVE coverage: https://t.co/k7vrcRw6kN pic.twitter.com/RrlEX9wwvg

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 21, 2023

“We hope that we will come out of this ordeal more united … a single army, a single people … towards a civilian power.”

The International Crisis Group (IGC) warned urgent steps were needed to stop a descent into “full-blown civil war”, warning “the nightmare scenario that many feared in Sudan is unfolding”.

The World Food Programme warned the violence could plunge millions more into hunger in a country where 15 million people — one-third of the population — need aid.

It has suspended its Sudan operations after the killing of three WFP workers on Saturday.

🚨WFP has been forced to call a temporary halt to operations providing life-saving food and cash assistance in #Sudan, where a third of the population already struggles to get enough food to eat.

🔗https://t.co/OPf7d08ric pic.twitter.com/yoqE46hqhU

— World Food Programme (@WFP) April 20, 2023

Burhan and Daglo’s bitter dispute centred on the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army, a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan’s democratic transition.

‘They don’t care’

Civilians are becoming increasingly desperate with thousands risking the dangerous streets to flee Khartoum, with many reporting streets strewn with corpses.

“This is a mere power struggle,” said Abdul Wahid Othman, a 53-year-old in Khartoum. “They don’t care about poor citizens who have been left without water, electricity … and water.”

Also read: Thousands flee Sudan capital following collapse of truce

International efforts are being planned for the potential evacuation of citizens, including the United States deploying forces for the possible airlift of US embassy staff.

Medics have warned of a catastrophe, with over two-thirds of hospitals in Khartoum and neighbouring states rendered “out of service” by the fighting, the doctors’ union said. Four hospitals in Obeid in North Kordofan state had also been “shelled”.

Up to 70% of Sudan's hospitals ‘out of service’ due to fight­ing between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group https://t.co/hg1hP1mjwl pic.twitter.com/lWNqxSMMor

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) April 20, 2023

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it had reports of almost 330 people killed and 3,200 wounded across Sudan, but medics fear the death toll is likely to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals.

My statement on the increaseingly concerning and heart breaking situation in #Sudan. pic.twitter.com/RY4mjRF0f4

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 20, 2023

Burhan and Daglo toppled autocratic president Omar al-Bashir together in April 2019 following massive protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021, they again worked together in a coup to oust the civilian government installed after Bashir’s downfall, derailing an internationally backed transition to democracy.

“With neither Burhan nor Hemeti appearing ready to back down, the situation could get much worse,” the ICG think tank said, adding that while some analysts thought the army would succeed in on its “home turf” in Khartoum, the risk of an all-out conflict remained.

“Even if the army eventually does secure the capital, and Hemeti retreats to Darfur, a civil war could well follow, with potentially destabilising impact in neighbouring Chad, the Central African Republic, Libya and South Sudan”, the ICG added.