Heavy gunfire in Sudan as Eid ceasefire calls ignored
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-Ramadan ceasefire. More than 300 people have been killed and thousands wounded since the fighting erupted on 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 Eid al-Fitr celebrations marking the end of the Muslim Ramadan month of fasting began, "several areas of Khartoum were bombed" and reported "shelling and clashes" for the sixth straight night. 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 Secretary of State Antony Blinken called separately for a ceasefire of "at least" three days to mark Eid, as explosions and gunfire resounded in Khartoum. 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. But, like two previous declared 24-hour ceasefires, it failed to take hold. The crackle of intense gunfire continued on Friday morning, with columns of black smoke rising across the capital. 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.  "We hope that we will come out of this ordeal more united... a single army, a single people... towards a civilian power." (AFP)